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JOURNAL; 



CONTAINING 



AN ACCOUNT 



WRONGS, SUFFERINGS, AND NEGLECT, 



EXPERIENCED BY 



AMERICANS IN FRANCE. 



RV STEPHEN CLUBB, 

LATE A PRISONER IN THAT empire. 



Published at the particular request of a number of citizen* 
of the United States, who were in confinement, and 
treated as British prisoners of war, when Mr. Clubb left 
France, which was in the month of July last, he being set 
at liberty by express order of the emperor. 



May the strong artn of local tyranny 
Fall harmless on my persecuted friends, 
Unncrv'd asid Uaccid ! lifeless may it rest. 
Till sufferinss soften the iuird heart that dictates. 



PRINTED AT BOSTON. 

1809. 



PREFACE. 



THE following narrative is given to the fraternity of 
free and accepted Masons by a brother, as being strictly 
fact, and he deems it his duty to pubUsh it in gratitude 
to French free masons, and the good of the order in 
general. 

He is likewise induced to it by another motive, viz. 
Being an Englishman bom, and not a naturalized citi- 
zen of the United States, he apprehends that the ene- 
mies of Mr. J. C. Bamett may make use of this circum- 
stance to his disadvantage, as he took an active part in 
his liberation. 

In the following pages, therefore, he endeavours to 
point out the clear right he had to be set at liberty, or 
rather the neglect and injustice he suffered in being 
first made prisoner, and that what Mr. Barnet did for 
him, was from the purest and most laudable of motives ; 
he therefore begs it may be read with candour and indul- 
gence, and, as he is merely a sea officer, and has not 



11 PREFACE. 

had the advantage of a regular education, hopes that 
improprieties of diction and all defects and irregularities 
in point of form will be overlooked, assmingthe read- 
er tliat however wanting it may be in form, it shall be 
perfect as to fact, it being entirely taken from his jour- 
nal and remai'ks on the spot. 

But the chief motive that actuates him, is the solemn 
promise he made to the unfortunate Americans at Ar- 
ras, while fellow-prisoner amongst those scenes of dis- 
tress, that if he lived to arrive in America, he would 
publish his wi'ongs and theirs, and the conduct of those 
in office, which was the cause of their sufferings. 



A JOURNAL, &c. 



1 WAS bora in England, in the year 1762, 
in the county of Suffolk ; and at fifteen years of age 
bound myself apprentice at London in the sea sei-vice. 
In the year 1787, being, at London, mate of a British 
ship, and the master a free mason, prompted by a de- 
sire of kno^vdedge, or, perhaps, by curiosity, I was in- 
itiated into the mysteries, and became a member of the 
lodge, No. 66, called the Lodge of Sincerity, acting 
under constitution of the grand lodge of England. 

I before had looked on masonry as a jovial society, 
who kept secret the signs by which they knevv^ each 
other fni' the better cementing them together, and dis- 
tinguishing them trom other men ; and that thev were 
thus guarded merely to enjojr the pleasures of society 
■with more freedom and less interruption thiui they 
could otherwise do ; and as, at that time, I ^vas in 
every respect fitted to enjoy and support con^-ivial 
mirth, I conceived myself well calculated for a mem- 
ber of such a society, I had observed that my supe- 
rior, the captain, never came from the lodge in a bad 
humour, but always with a cheerful serenity on his 
countenance, bordering on gaiety, which I took to be 
merely the effect of the unimportant, or perhaps frivo- 
lous, pleasures he had been engaged in. 

Under these impressions I was led to masoniy : but 
when I saw the aptness and propriety of the symbols 
there exhibited to imprint on the mind the venerable, 
useful, and sacred truths they are intended to inculcate ; 
when I found myself admitted and instructed how to 
contemplate the wisdom of the almight}- grand Archi- 



tect to conti'ive so excellent a fabric ; to admire the 
strength of reciprocal support, where there is no open- 
ing, no blank, or useless part, but although in different 
degi-ees of elevation and honour, all are equally service- 
able ; when I was suffered to enjoy the beauty with 
which the whole structure was adorned, I ^vas convin- 
ced that it was the nearest approach to perfection on 
earth, and sincerely regretted that I had not sooner 
been made a mason ; being made fully sensible, that a 
mason in the lodge is taught the moral and social duties 
in a manner far superior to that which can be convey- 
ed in any other way ; in a manner which speaks at 
once to the heart, and imprints, convinces, and de- 
monstrates at a blow, planting itself in the memory so 
as never after to be eradicated. But, alas, poor human 
nature ! when I see a mason hurried away by his nat- 
ural passions, or, what is still more humiliating, blinded 
by inordinate love of gain, to be guilty of base and 
dishonoiu'able actions, I lament the depravity of the 
human heart, and the insufficiency of all human insti- 
tutions to bring it to ^ grcaici degree of perfection. In 
the course of following my profession, I have visited 
lodges in various parts of the world, and have uniformly 
found them travelling in the same direction, and have 
been enlightened by them. Sometimes, in return, I 
have administered consolation and support to a brother 
under misfortunes, or otherwise in need, and have al- 
ways found the balance in my favour. 

In 1792, I mairicd a native of Boston, (Mass.) who, 
to other qualifications which 1 approved, added that of 
an inextinguishable love for her country and connex- 
ions ; inid judging by her of Americans in general, I 
was led to think they were -a very patriotic people. 

Soon after my marriage I got the command of a ship, 
and used the coal and Baltic trades, until she was taken 
by the French ; after which I bought part of another, 
which I lost by bad weather, and, by mistake of my 
friend who WTote for the insurance, lost that also. I 
then applied to the Trinity house, at London, for a pi- 



lot's warrant for London river and the north sea, went 
through the examination, and obtained it. I exercised 
that profession about four years, without any accident ; 
in which time, by means of industry and frugahty, I 
saved some money ; but the Danish war taking place, 
I lost the greatest part of my business, and for that and 
other reasons, determined with my wife to come to 
Boston, and in May, 1807, sold my effects, and we 
held ourselves in readiness to embark the first oppor- 
tunity for the United States. 

An opportunity offered in October following, and I 
embarked from Lowestoft in an American ship for the 
United States, plentifully fitted with provisions, clothes, 
and necessaries of every description, and a sum of 
money sufficient to purchase part of a vessel for a trade 
I had in view. We experienced strong westerly gales, 
and put into Margate road for shelter. The captain 
went on shore, and brought a newspaper off to me to 
read, contamlng liio Brlttu^nlc majesty's proclamation 
forbidding all British subjects leaving the kingdom, or 
sailing in any foreign siiips or vessels, and command- 
ing all those to come to England who might be settled 
abroad, under pain of being considered and treated as 
traitors to their country. 

I must confess I read this with indignation, consid- 
ering it as an arbitrary and oppressive measure, derog- 
atory to the rights of nature, and turning the great body 
of the people into property, to be owned and com- 
manded by the cabinet, unsanctioned by the parliament, 
and therefore unconstitutional, null in itself, and void. 

Seeing it in this light I determined to proceed ; but 
after some detention by bad weather we were forced 
into Cowes, Isle of Wight, in a gale of wind, and there 
findmg the ship was likely to go to the West Indies, 
we went on shore with our effects to wait a better op- 
portunity, and, in the beginning of December the ship 
Hyades of Saco from Charleston, with rice, arrived, 
to wait for orders. I went on board to see the captain, 
and agreed to take charge of the ship, as pilot, in the 



north sea, and second mate for my wife's passage to 
America, he being a sti'anger there. Matters thus set- 
tled we went on board, and I kno^ving that ship and cargo 
were really American property, insured nothing on my 
effects, much less did I doubt the safety of our persons 
in case we were taken by the French, imagining that in 
such a fair case, the treaty would be observed,for thought 
I, the rice will speak for itself to be American produce, 
and as for risk of weather, where we trust our lives we 
will trust our property. 

I got under weigh on the morning of the 31st De- 
cember from Cowes road, the wind blowing very strong 
at S. W. and thick with rain. Having our orders for 
London, we carried hai'd on her, and at 2 P. M. judg- 
ing myself to the eastward of the owers, bore aAvay for 
Bcachy Head, and saw a small sail to Uie southward 
chasing us. She soon came up with us, and hoisted 
French colours ; we hoisted ourjj, and she fired twice 
to bring us too. We obej eH ; and she. buciraed and 
took possession of us, steering by the wind for the 
French shore, the prize-master and his crew behaving 
very civil, and it blowing a heavy gale all night. 

Jan. 1, 1808. At 10 o'clock, A. M. made tlie 
French land, and got into Calais in the evening. 
Alter dark the commissary of marine, and other offi- 
cers came on board, and imme^liately interrogated all 
of us, asking our names, places of birth, and residence, 
and likewise our fathers' and mothers' christian and sur- 
names, and residence. These questions I truly answer- 
ed. My wife was likewise interrogated with the same 
questions, and answered in the same manner. Mr. 
Heniy Derheim of Calais, a broker, interpreter, and 
veteran hypocrite, officiated in this iniquitous business, 
and assisted the owners and officers of the privateer, 
his colleagues, in the main design of condemning ship 
and cargo. He imagined that if he could get me to 
declare myself a London pilot, it would be a strong 
corroborating proof of her being bound to London, and 
a help to forward her condemn;jtion. In order to this. 



his first carc was, to insinuate himself into my confi- 
dence, which he began by telling me he was very sorry 
that I had confessed I was born in England. I told 
him, that as there was no decree of the emperor, order- 
ing the imprisonment of a man taken in a neutral and 
friendly service, merely because he was born in Eng- 
land, that it could not be done without a violation of the 
treaty, and that France had never violated a treaty with- 
out being induced to it by her interest which could not 
be in my case. I had no fear on me. He said he on- 
ly ivished to serve me as he would any unfortunate 
Englishman^ that he had been married to an English 
woman, and that some of his children were bom in 
England, that consequently his attachm.ent to that coun- 
try was great, and he should be sorry to see me put in 
prison, and that he knew of but one way to prevent it, 
which was, to declare myself pilot of the ship, for that 
no pilots were oent to prison : I measured his com by 
my bushel, but was mistaken ; for thinking that he 
might be like myself as much or more attached to his 
wife's country, than to his own, I believed him to be 
sincere, and produced my pilot's \^'arrant, of which he 
set down and instantly took a copy, sayhig it would ef- 
fectually prevent my going to prison. But too late I 
perceived it was a ruse de guerre^ and that the traitor 
had sent the copy to Paris, to ensure my condemnation. 
Went to bed at the hotel where he recommended me. 
Jan. 2. Breakfasted and dined at the hotel ; my 
wife in tears almost all the day with apprehensions of a 
prison ; after dinner a military officer camie and invited 
me to the commisary of war office. I went and con- 
firmed my first interrogation,* and I for the first time 
in my life saw a receipt given for my body. 

* In all the simplicity of truth, knowing my cause to be 
just and clear, I scarcely apprehended any danger ; and the 
commissary of war, the treacherous interpreter, my pretended 
friend, and an officer of the pi'ivateer, played the game of 
forces, shrugs, and obsequious French cringes on me with 
Q 



10 

The jailor gave me leav e to sit by his fire : I sat down 
and reflected on the villany of mankirid when thirst of 
gain has overcome the principle of rectitude. But I 
had soon a harder and more painful sensation to expe- 
rience, the sight of my wife, who came from the hotel 
to me, to see me a prisoner, betra}ed and condenmed 
the victim of consummate hypocrisy and treachery, 
amongst obscure filth, damp and stench. She could 
scai'cely support the sight ; 16 yeai's we had shared one 
fate, and she was still detei mined that mine should be 
hers, although the transiti\'e h dreadful and humiliating, 
from neat and wholesome cleanliness, comfort, and re- 
spectability, to the horrors of a jail, clcdiking of fetters, 
noise of wooden shoes, and sight of pale half famished 
wretches ; their sighs and groans she could hear, but it 
was some consolation to me that she could not under- 
stand their useless curses. 

Curses ai'e impotent, therefore I lost no time in vent- 
ing them, but prepared tor a night's sleep that I might 



great success, and I really did not suspect that an order was 
given for my imprisonment. It is true I suspected them all, 
as well as Mr. Le Veux, (Gen. Armstrong's appointed agent) 
to be interested in the capture, and coalesced for the purpose 
of condemning the ship and cargo ; but did not know tnat 
they considered it necessary to sacrifice me for that purpose. 
The interpreter, addressing me with a bow and smile, said, 
" we have done with you for the present, sir ; and as it is 
very dark, and you a stranger in town, this gentleman (point- 
ing to an officer in uniform) will conduct you back." The 
officer received me en veritable Francais^ hat in hand, with 
a scrape and Gallic grin, and I retvirned it, or I'ather receiv- 
ed it, or perhaps neither returned nor received it, with all the 
gaucherie of a real John Bull, and walked out with him. We 
walked together, discoursing familiarly, until we came to a 
flight of stone steps, which. I saw by the light of a lamp. 
Montez par ici s'il vous Jilacit,, ?nonsieur^ sa.ys he. I did so: 
a door opened. Entrez^ monsieur^ says he. I did so, and 
found myself in prison. Words cannot express my astonish- 
inent, which, when my friend the officer saw. Monsieur., sans 
doiite., says he, aura sa liberie clemain ou ajires demain c'est 
■<<cule?nent en formalite. 



11 

be the better able to take the necessary measures, and 
write the next day. The jailor told me that if I had a 
bed, 1 must pay 2 francs a night, which I agreed to, and 
we supped, and recommended oMrselves to the protec- 
tion of the gi'eat first cause who called us into being. 
I slept sound all night, but Mrs. Ciubb laid awake in 
tears, counting the clock, and listening to the watch- 
horns, which sounded awful and sullen every quarter of 
an hour responsive to each other ; which dull and heavy 
noise, I could not help contrasting with the cheerful 
voice of the British seaman, which I had been accus- 
tomed to hear. Ail's well. Delightful sound to those 
at liberty ! (shall I e^•er hear thee more, is the nat- 
ural thought of every prisoner) instead of which, this 
uncouth noise assails the ear of the unfortunate captive, 
insulting, ominous, and dreadfully prophetic of the fur- 
ther sufterings that a^vait him, uncler which perhaps he 
is to linger out the remainder of his days in want, fam- 
ine, and disease, far from the partner of his heart and 
his innocent children, who, in want of his support, are 
consigned to poverty, and that contempt which is ever 
shewn to it by the unthinking many. It little avails 
the widowed wife, the disconsolate widow, or their dear 
little innocents, that they can lay their hand on their 
heait, in the bitterness of their soul, and say. Our fa- 
ther, our friend, our protector and support is torn from 
us by remorseless war, and we are left isolated and 
undone, evidently not by our fault, but by our misfor- 
tune. I say it little avails ; for poverty, however hon- 
est, is so disgusting, that in dread of it we frequentl}' 
see a man even forsake his choice, the idol of his heait, 
his other self, in whom he can see no other fault than that 
of being poor ; and perhaps after seducing her with oaths 
and promises, is himself seduced in his turn, and yields 
to shining mammon ; and persuaded that hapj^iness 
dwells with riches, forsakes her whom, by the ties of 
nature and honour, he ought to be united with ; stifling 
the stings of remorse, leaves her and his innocent off- 
spring to want and contempt, marries for money, and 



12 

becomes a rich wretch, wealthy in woe, the remainder 
of his Hfe. 

But it were well for many if the evil ended here. If 
we believe the sacrec^MTit, the Almighty, for his o^vn 
wise purposes, visits the sins of the fathers upon the 
children ; and we well know that the world, in this 
case, lays the infamy and contempt on the innocent 
fruit of the forbidden embraces instead of the guilty 
father. He out of the reach of law, lifts up his brazen 
front and exults in safety, but often the ^vrath of heav- 
en finds him out, and he who sees things as they ai'e, 
punishes him perhaps in his omii body with remorse, 
and tlie gout, or more excruciating stone ; perhaps 
in his legal ofls])ring, who prove undutiful or rebel- 
lious, or are perhaps crippled or insane, and the wild 
glare of their distraction darts horror and anguish to 
the conscious heait of the guilty paient. To the hon- 
our of the sex, an unnatural mother is seldom known. 
I was disturbed from these reflections by the jailor, 
rattling his ke} s outside of the double door at 8 o'clock 
on the morn of 

Jan. 3, and the cautious bolts flew back, the pon- 
derous doors turned slow on their hinges with sullen 
groan, and he entered pale and circumspect, with a 
candle in his hand, and examined round the damp and 
dirty room ; then came to our bed side, and asked if 
we would boai'd with him at tlii'ee livres each per day ? 
to which I consented, not expecting to be there long. 
We dressed, and he brought in our breakfast, 
which was scant and meagre, being little more than 
the name of breakfast. When we had finished, I 
sent my wife to Mr. Le Veux, called tliere American 
consul ; who told her that her husband wsls an English- 
man, and that nothing could be done for him, and 
refused to come to see me, saying, it would be of no 
use ; but that if she would leave me, he would pro- 
cure her a pass. She returned to me, heart broken 
with grief at such a proposal ; and we lamented tliat a 
Frenchman, who, to all appearance, was interested in 



13 

the fortune of the privateer, should be appointed con- 
sul : for how could we ask advice from one of the 
robbers combined for our destruction, in direct viola- 
tion of the treaty, without any decree, or even the law 
of necessity y to plead for the proceeding. But, said 
we, let us write to General Armstrong ; he is an 
American, whose proper office it is to procure justice 
to be done to American ships : my wife wrote, stating 
the business exactly as it stood, viz. That I had been 
torn from the flag of the United States, under which 
she was born, and under which I had taken shelter, 
being really second mate for our passages, and that my 
name stood as such on the role of equipage ; from that 
flag, whose first display and independence was pur- 
chased with the blood of her countrymen, and that two 
of her ancestors lost their lives in the cause on Bun- 
ker's hill, and begging of him as her country's repre- 
sentative, to try for justice for us, as there could not 
be found any decree of the emperor by which I could 
be considered prisoner of war ; or that if he could do 
nothing for us, that he wr.nld let us know it by a line, 
that we might trouble him no farther, and that we 
might have the earlier opportunity of trying ourselves 
to obtain justice of the emperor. 

This letter she put in the post-office, and, at the 
same time one for Mr. Richard Skinner of this town, 
who was then in Paris, requesting him to wait on 
General Armstrong in our behalf, and to write us the 
result as soon as possible ; but we received no answer 
to either of them while at Calais. 

Jan. 4. Mrs. Clubb went on board, and took our 
clothes and some of our effects out of the ship, and 
some things they detained from her, not suffering her 
to take them, she shewing her certificate of birth in 
Boston, and of her marriage with a citizen of the 
United States, by the Rev. Dr. John Lathrop, minis- 
ter of the second church in Boston. They however 
had all oiir chests, trunks, &c. taken to the custom- 
house and examined, aiid exacted their fees at the 



14 

same time of her, the Avife of a betrayed and A\Tetched 
prisoner. She deposited our elothes at the hotel, and 
returned to me in prison \\ith the dreadful fact in her 
mouth, that " her foes were those of her own house- 
hold," for that the consul for America, Mr. Le Veux, 
was inaccessible, ai^.d would give neither advice nor 
countenance to a wretched woman, who, merely for 
the love of her coiuitry and connexions, had, m ith her 
husband, put herself under the protection of the flag, 
from which flas; and service that husband had been vio- 
lentiy and unjustly torn and put in jjrison, evidently 
for the purpose of forwaixling the condemnation of ship 
and cargo, when at the same time there existed no de- 
cree authorising them so to do ; the consul thereby 
becoming negatively the colleague and assistant in tliis 
nefarious business, and although not a professional 
robber, like the captain of the privateer, the interpre- 
ter, and commissary of war, who acted the principal 
and most prominent parts in this act of commissioned 
and adjusted depredation on American property, yet I 
have reason to think that he prompted, and was no less 
neeessaiy in the drama than the principal actor, or even 
the great manager himself, both of whom always kept 
out of my sight. 

Jan. 5. Awoke in the morning very early ; reflected 
on my dreadful position, how I have been deceived in 
imagn\ing that American diplomatic men are vigilant 
and active intlie exercise of their oflUce, jealous and tena- 
cious of the rights of their flag. In the regular routine of 
business, Capt. Savage, master of the Hyades, applied 
for me his second mate as a part of his ship's company, 
which had been unjustly tiiken from him, but Mr. Le 
Yeux the consul would not listen to him. Thus be- 
ing condemned the victim of interested and corrupted 
men, black as night AA'hen compared ^\■hh him from 
whom they dra^v their power, and for A\'hom they act. 
To him then says I will I appeal, conscious of my in- 
tegrity and my MTongs ; but how shall I cft'ect it, or 
how support my present trials ? 



Masonry, thou first and purest of human mstitu- 
tions ! calculated to inspire in the heart of man, uni- 
versal benevolence and fraternal love. Thou who in 
symbols bright, expressive and energetic, demonstrate 
to man, that his true interest, is the interest of his 
brother, and that his brother is the whole of human 
race ; and in sacred mystic forms, unknovvn to the 
prophane and unenlightened, who never sought thy 
hallowed fane, impartest pleasures serene and pure, 
that please on reflection, and with mild and gentle 
beam brightens the dark transit of life : while the tem- 
ples contrived by thy wisdom, supported by thy strength, 
and adorned by thy beauty ; reflect on each other a 
mild splendour inspiring the firmest confidence and 
smoothing the asperities of the thorny way. 

Masonry, bright emanation of thy parent light ! wis- 
dom is thy peculiar attribute, tell me then, fair daughter 
of heaven, tell me then, why I am thus torn by vio- 
lence from society ? deprived of the sight of the sun, 
and confined in the common alembic of misery. Vv^hy 
am I shunned like a pest, and neglected by General 
Armstrong's agent who ought at least to visit and con- 
sole me ? is it because I have acted in a treacherous or 
hostile manner against this nation, or diflferent to the 
captain or the rest of the company who are at large in 
the town ? no. Is it because the ship I was in was 
prostituting the honour of her flag, and under colour 
of neutrality favoring the enemies of France ? no. Is 
it then in consequence of a tyrannic order of the em- 
peror to imprison indiscriminately every man born in 
England, that shall be taken in a neutral and friendly 
service, whether that man is friend or foe ? no. There 
is no such order ; but says the light of reason, circum- 
stances will prove to you in the sequel that it is cupid- 
ity, shameful lust of gain, that causes you thus to be 
abandoned. You are considered a needful sacrifice by 
a combination ; and while this is the case, you are 
weak to expect the agent of Gen. Armstrong will no- 
tice you ; and there is no way for you to obtain your 



16 

liberty, but by getting a friend to present your case to 
the emperor himself. 

Merciful God, what a depth of misery ! but I am a 
mason, and will not despair. My wife is left me yet, 
weeping by my side in this dirty and digusting con- 
finement, altered and almost frantic with grief. She 
never quits me but when I send her ; a faithful 
ambassadress carrying the cause in her heart. I will 
send her to the master of the principal lodge, and ask 
him to visit me, hoping that the mercy I have shewn 
to others will no^v be shewn to me. She is gone, and 
will not linger on her en-and. 

She inquired for the house of Mr. Pigault, master 
of la Loge de St. Louis des amis re-u?iis, who received 
her very kind and politely, and with his amiable wife 
and daughter did their utmost to console her distress 
by kind behaviour, and he promised to visit me. My 
wife came back to the prison, and fell ill of a fever, 
brought on by grief and indignation, and went to our 
damp and dirty bed. Then if, in the bitterness of rage, 
I imprecated vengeance on the traitors who were the 
cause of all this, forgive me, heaven ! it is past now 
and over, and I have no desire of revenge. My only 
wish is, that my simple relation of these facts may have 
the effect of a beacon on a rock, and warn the unsus- 
picious, put them on their guard, and hinder them 
from confiding any more than is absolutely necessary 
in any man whatever. 

My wife laid sick two days, during which time I 
watched her, and was a prey to dreadful apprehensions ; 
but a good constitution, a mind in health, conscious 
innocence, and a temper naturally cheerful, got the 
better of the disorder without medical assistance, and 
I had the inexpressible pleasure to see her revive again, 
and with her sweet hope and cheerfulness. Hope, 
thou dear deceitful phantom, emblem of the sex, de- 
ceiver by profession, yet ever dear and necessary to 
the peace of mankind, we chase thee from spot to 
spot of imaginary bliss ! Sweet alluring sliadow, let 



17 

me never lose sight of thee, although in prison, but 
follow thee, like a boy after a butterfly, hat in hand, 
from flower to flower, till death ends the sport. This 
day, the brig Testimonj^, oi Scarborough, was brought 
in, and the captain and mate confined in our room ; 
but being decent and steady men, we did not find them 
any embaixassment to us. 

Jan. 6. Norfar, the captain of the brig, told me his 
clothes had been stolen fiom him by the privateer's 
men, and I wi'ote a letter for him to the commissary of 
marine ; who sent to him, desiring him to make out 
an account of what he had lost, and if any of his clothes 
could be found in the possession of any of his men, 
that man should pay for the whole of them, and be 
punished besides. Two of the crew being found with 
his shirts on, they received exemplary punishment, 
paid for all the clothes he had lost, and were imprison- 
ed till the lugger went to sea again. 

Jan. 7. It being very cold I joined with Norfar to 
purchase turf, and kept a fire all day. Mrs. Clubb 
sick. Capt. Savage, and other American gentlemen 
visited us. The day's fuel cost us thirty sous or cents. 

Jan. 8. Mrs. Clubb on the recovery ; better to- 
wards night ; and went out of the prison to the hotel, and 
Norfar started for Arras. 

Jan. 9. Mr. Pigault, and several other masons, vis- 
ited me ; advised me not to flatter myself with being set 
at liberty until a general exchange ; but said he would 
furnish me with letters of recommendation to each 
prefect on my route to Arras, being all masons and of 
his acquaintance, that I might not be detamed in the 
different prisons on the road, but forwarded with all 
the expedition the circumstance would allow for Arras, 
where he hoped I should obtain my pai'ole. 

Jan. 10. Got our chests and trunks from the hotel 
to the prison, and placed them in our room. 

Jan. 11. Finding we were not likely to obtain jus- 
tice, or obtain the least pity or consideration from the 
consul, and being likely to be sent to the depot of 
3 



British prisoners of war at Arras, we employed our- 
selves in making the necessary dispositions, packing 
our clothes, &c. 

Jan. 12. The brig Mary, capt. Cathey, of Sunder- 
land was brought in ; the captain and mate put in with 
us. The jailor kept a smait eye on my eftects, and 
hoping that, as the distance was about ninety miles to 
Arras, that I would sell some of them, either for con- 
venience or necessity, introduced a merchant to me. 

Jan. 13. Mrs. Clubb went to Mr. Pigault, and took 
his recommendatory letters, addressed to all the masters 
of lodges on the route, and ai'e as follows : 

In lodge, at Calais, the sixth day of 
the first month, of the year of ma- 
sonry, 5808. 

To the brethren of the lodge of Friendship at Arras, the 
brethren of the lodge of St. Louis, of the reunited friends. 

Thrice dear and worthy brethren, 

This will be handed you by bi^other Clubb, cafiitain en 
seconder British prisoner of war, now at Arras, to whom, as 
wallas to his wife, we have granted all those helps and broth- 
ei'ly consolations, which their situations require, and our ob- 
ligations impose. 

We have been likewise guided by another motive, that of 
rendering to brother Ciubb the good offices which he himself 
has in this war rendered to our unfortunate brethren, and to 
acquit them towards him and the order in general. 

This is saying enough to you, and we are convinced that 
you will be pleased to be a substitute for us as it respects 
him, and will be glad that we have offered you an occasion 
to be useful to a worthy, unfortunate brother : 

He has likewise been favoured with the same good will 
from the lodge of the Desired Reunion of the Elect National 
Guards at St. Omer, and he is bearer of a pressing recom- 
mendation from brother senator general Rampon. 

If then you can be useful to him, and rei.der him any good 
offices, we shall be the more grateful for it. 
We have the honour to be, Sec. 

PIGAULT, &c. Sec. 8cc. 

All the British paper money I had when betrayed, 
were three 1 pound notes ; these the prison cook (an 
honest old Dutchman) changed for me at a money 



19 

changer's at 20 francs each, and my expences having 
already exhausted that, they thought I was pennyless. 
Received orders to be in readiness to march for Arras 
next morning. 

Jan. 14, at 8 o'clock A. M. A gendaime enter- 
ed and ordered us to march out with all expedition, 
and a Merchant attended to purchase any clothes or 
other eftects I had to sell, offering me about a tenth 
part of their value, thinking I should be forced to sell 
at any price to procvire money for road expences, and 
I found a triple alliance Vas formed for this purpose, 
viz. the gendarme^ ']M\or and merchant ; the two first 
to huny me away quick, in as much confusion as pos- 
sible, that the others might cheat me with the greater 
facility, and I have no room to doubt, but they would 
share the profits after, (as I afterwards found it to be a 
trick connnonly practised on WTCtched prisoners. ) In 
order the better to effect this, they agreed with the man 
who drove the cait which w as sent me by the worth}'' 
brother Pigault, not to take all my baggage, but to say 
it was two nmch, and that his horses could not perform 
the journey with such a load, and they actually endeav- 
ored to drive us away with only a part of our baggage. 
I stood at the jail door, with my chests, trunks, wid 
packages, enclosed by the three robbers, and a hungry 
rabble exulting over us, my wife by my side, a list of my 
effects on a card in her hand, and with my friend Capt. 
Savage, his mate, and the rest of my shipmates keep- 
ing a sharp look-out that they stole nothing. 

The gendarme ordering me to miu'ch, I saw that I 
must have another cait, or leave some of my baggage. 
I called out for a cart, and a woman came to me saying 
she would let me one, asking twelve francs for the first 
stage of my journey which was to Ardre, a distance of 
eleven miles of excellent road. I offered her ten francs, 
which after some talk, she consented to take, but insist- 
ed on being paid before the baggage should be put 
on the cart, which I was not very willing to do ; 
upon which they thought I had no money, and that my 



^0 

clothes and effects would fall a prey as had been the case 
with many unfortunate captives. I saw the merchant's 
cou.itenaiicc brightened with hope of my offering to 
sell him something to raise the ten francs ; and stand- 
iiig close to a irunk put my hand in my pocket, my eye 
fixed on the merchant, who no doubt expected I was 
feeling for the key to gel something out to sell him. 

I pulled out two Spanish dollars ; at the sight of the 
shining strangers, his countenance fell with disappoint- 
ment, and he turned from me sullen as a tyger after 
springing and missing his pret^ I eyed the two dollars 
in their transit from me to the woman. Farewell my 
bright circular envo3^s ; thy pacific countenances have 
procured me at least an ai'mistice for a while, until an- 
other occasion presents itself, and with necromantic 
power have allured the face of affairs so much that I am 
suffered to depart for the prison without any failher 
depredation being connnitted on us in this place. Ac- 
cordingly we mounted all our baggage, chests, trunks, 
and packages, eleven parcels in number, on the two 
voitures, and then the. interpreter, who till now had kept 
out of sight, came and joined us when I did not want 
him. Prudence prevented me from saying any thing 
to this treacherous man, for I thought that some time 
or other he might possibly lay a stumbling block in 
the way of my release ; and telling him he was a scoun- 
drel and traitor would be only what he had often been 
told before to no purpose. 

In all ni}^ life I never described the order of a maixh 
of triumph, nor do I know hoAV. I have read indeed of 
Roman emperors, and their triumphal arches, kings 
chained to their chariot w^heels, &c. &c. &:c. with miuiy 
other matters of the kind which I have forgot ; but 
never read of a betrayed neglected man, with his wife 
and a little boy, being separated in triumph from the 
flag of a fi-iendly nation, from shipmates and country- 
men, the children of peace. The first figure in this 
tragi-comedy was the voiture which I had, with the 
greatest part of my baggage. 



21 

Then followed the voiture with which brother Pi- 
gault took care to furnish me, with only 2 trunks in it, 
in which we were to ride occasionally, we chusing to 
folio\\^, that we might the better keep a watch o^^er the 
voiture aJiead. 

Then followed me and my wife ; the little boy close 
astern of us, and the gendarme who guarded us, mounted 
on a superb chai'ger. This hero was about six feet high, 
wearing a tri- coloured cockade on a tremendous scraper, 
underneath which, appeared his whiskered phiz ; by his 
side hung his redoubtable glaive, pistols in holster, 
military gloves en cavalier^ trimmed with martial fuiT, 
over all was thrown his horseman's cloak, and thus 
with left hand on hip, body erect, and head up in war- 
like form, he drove us before him, swaggering over us, 
and seeming to say, like tuneful Peter's cat, " this is all 
my catching ;" and to close all, the citizens of Calais, 
eager to feast their eyes on the glorious spoil and tro- 
phies won by their valiant con-citoyens. Degenerate 
men of Calais, how unlike your magnanimous ances- 
tors, famed in story ! May the blessings of heaven 

. Mfs, ^ght on such of you who are not in the confederac}^, 
■' " but with integrity of heait withstand the temptation of 

*■ ' shining gold, whose fingers itch not to handle the prop- 
erty of neutral and friendly men. 

The weather was extreme cold, but fair and diy. We 
.!'# walked out of Calais ; capt. Savage, and Mr. Emery his 
mate walked a little way with us ; and now came the 
dreaded moment of parting with those worthy friends 
and brothers ; my wife vented her regret by shedding 
tears most plentifully, and I had to muster all my forti- >?*■ 
tude to prevent mine from falling, at having to part 
with friends whom I might probably see no moi'e ex- 
cept in a state of captivity like myself; for they did not 
know how soon they might have to follo^v me, and I 
well knew that the confederates would have been glad 
to have sent them as well as myself, my being born in 
England being merely a handle. 



22 

I walked along with aching heart, cursing that base, 
^ovling, cowardly passion, thirst of gold, insatiute lust. 
More, more, the glutton cries till death stops the note 1 
Mistrustful fear of want must be thy basis ! Merciful 
death contrived by the wild Indians for Baidivia. They 
it is said poured melted gold down that voracious Span- 
iard's throat, that he might go into the other world full, 
with an account that he had been fully satisfied in this. 
Sage savages ! 

In the prospect of being drove into the interior of an 
unknown country alone and a captive, with the hated 
name of im Anglois among prejudiced people, I had 
no apprehension at all, for understanding their language 
pretty well, and having been led by my profession to 
see the w^orld, and in the younger part of my time had 
sailed with the French, my eai'ly natural prejudices were 
gone, and I saw the -whole human race with the eye of 
a mason. To these qualifications I added a resolution 
to act in as conciliating a manner as possible with all 
who came near me, and began immediately with my 
son of Mars who guarded me, by asking him to take 
a glass of brandy or wine, and he drank with me very 
sociably, but sparingly. My wife mounted the voiture 
and I walked along side of his horse being a pretty good 
pedestrian, and conversed very fiuniliarly till we came 
to Ardre, a small miserable old town,\^ ith a prison of the 
same description. The jailor keeping a kind of grocery 
and pedling store, I being an ofiicer was suffered to 
stay in the shop, and sit by the lire among a number of 
Frenchmen, who flocked round to hear what I had to 
say. I principally directed my discourse to a Monsieur 
Broussard, officer in the gendarmerie, who invited me 
and my wife out to supper with him, and behaved very 
politely. 

At 10 o'clock, the jailor warned me to go to a bed 
which he had piepared for me in the prison. I went 
and looked at it, but it and the prison tout ensemble was 
most dirty and disgusting, and there were t^vo French 



sailor deserters, confined in the same room. I tried 
iiard for lea^ e to sleep in the store, but was told that 
my G:oing into prison, could not be dispensed with ; in 
we Avent and were locked up ; slept tolerably well. 

Jan. 15. Awoke, I believe at about 6 o'clock, for 
there was no glass in the wdndow^, that we could not see 
wlien the diiylight made ; but at 8 o'clock the door 
opened, and I was told that in about an hour a voiture 
' would be ready to convey us to St. Omer, which was 
a favor granted at the request of brother Pigault, other- 
wise wc must have stayed in this unwholesome hole 
three or four nights. Accordingly, at 9 o'clock, the 
voiture came to the door, and after much vociferation 
on the part of the voiturier, saying my baggage was 
more than he could take, and some persuasion on my 
part, softened with a drop of brandy, he took up all, 
and two French soldiers, their wives, and baggage, 
which indeed was very small besides ; the weatlier 
being now excessive cold, and one of the women with- 
out a cloak, I offered her my great coat to ride in, and 
walked with her husband, a veteran, who had seen ser- 
vice, and been wounded, but did not conceive that he 
had any cause to complain ; his company was very 
agreeable, and beguiled the road, which was straight, 
between rows of trees, and paved in the middle all the 
way ; the country seemed veiy populous. 

About 1 1 o'clock we stopped thirty minutes at the 
half-way house for the refreshment of those who had 
money to purchase it. For our parts, having provi- 
sions, wine, and cordials with us, 1 thought to have had 
the pleasure of having the soldiers and their wives to 
partake of it with us, but they disappointed me ; whe- 
ther from a native pride, or whether from a fear of de- 
priving us, I cannot say, they only politely tasted with 
us, and then sat dowir, and eat their own brown bread 
and drank cider, with a cheerfulness and gaiety pecu- 
liar to the French. 

We arrived at St. Omer about 2 o'clock. ■ It is a 
large old town, with a very good market square, in 



24 

which stands the prison, a lai'ge old building, appear- 
ing to have been built for religious purposes, now a 
receptacle for the depraved, the unfortunate, the mis- 
erable, and the insane. From the strong grated win- 
dows we drove up to the door, and heard an English 
voice, " Here's Mr. Clubb, here's Mr. Ciubb." The 
sound of my native language in such a place struck 
me with a pleasure I before had no idea of, and in a 
mii^.ute saw myself surrounded by Capt. Nortar and 
his ship's company of hard north- countrymen, who 
were as glad to see us as we were to see them, and 
indeed with reason, for we were reciprocal helps to 
each other ; I could serve them as spokesman, and 
they occasionally could help me with my baggage 
(which altogether weighed at that time 900 weight) 
besides which, their company gave an idea of strength 
to our little caravan. 

The jailor had given them liberty to come out at the 
door, and unload our voiture, which they soon did, 
and stowed the chests in a room in the jail set apart for 
that purpose, and then they were locked into a room 
adjoining that where we lived ; but we were allowed 
to range in the different avenues and apai'tments on our 
agreeing to pay the jailor six francs per day for our 
boaixl, that is, fifty cents each for a plate at table with 
him and his wife ; a kind of ordinary, where such 
company was seated as we never before had been used 
to. Amongst the rest was a private of the national 
guard, who had attempted to assassinate his officer, for 
which he had been tried by a court-martial, and sen- 
tenced to be shot, was double ironed, and confined in 
a cell for that purpose ; but saw^ed off his irons, under- 
mined his cell, and had nem-ly effected his escape, when 
he was detected. The jailor shewed me the bolt which 
he sawed ; it appeai'ed to be about five -eighths of an 
inch, and told me that he was led out to be shot, but 
was told that his life should be spared if he would dis- 
cover by what means he procured the instrument ; but 
he positively refused, saying, " That secret shall die 



25 

with me." His officer solicited the general ibr him^ 
and the execution was suspended. When I saw him, 
he had been eleven months with heavy irons on botii 
legs, with a bolt athwait, which bolt reeved through a 
hole in one end of a squai'e iron bar, which he had 
nursed between his \inees until it was bright as silver, 
and thus accoutred he sat at table, and we mustisit 
with him, or lose our supper ; hunger pleaded so 
strongly for the former, that, in spite of our reluctance, 
we sat down and honoured the Jreco, which was toler- 
able. After supper the jailor gave this wretch a key, 
and he shuffled to a kind of closet, which he unlocked, 
and took out a pair of bright handcuffs, and brought 
them to the jailor, and reeving a proper part of them 
through a hole in the upper end of the bar, placed liis 
wrists in a position for locking ; they were locked fast, 
and he shuffled away to his straw with as much com- 
posure as any of the company. These were new^ and 
disgusting scenes to me, but to my wife most dreadful. 

At 10 o'clock we were ordered to bed, and Norfar 
and his mate, with myself, and Mrs. Clubb, and a 
French debtor, were conducted up stairs, and locked 
into a four bedded room. The glass of the window- 
was broken, and that night a storm of snow came on, 
with as heavy a gale as ever I remember ; found the 
cold excessive. 

Jan. 16. At 8 o'clock our door was unlocked by 
a servant girl, who caught me in the act of reading a 
letter from her sweetheait, who was a soldier, and then 
at Dunkirk. It contained a pressing request from the 
hero, that she would send him eleven francs to take his 
cloak out of pawn. This letter she had incautiously 
left in the window. I gave her the precious paper, 
and asked her if she had complied with his request ; 
she answered in the affirmative. 

I asked the jailor to let my wife out, to carry a letter ; 

but he refused, saying, she was a prisoner. I however 

found a Frenchman Avho did it for a small piece of 

monev, and a ^voithy brother to whom it was address- 

4 



26 

■ ed, an ofticer in the national elect guaixl, came imme- 
diately to me, imd consoled me as much as was in his 
power, but could make no alteration in the manner of 
our confinement, nor could he obtain leave for Mrs. 
Clubb to go about the town, only by taking her in 
charge as a prisoner, and going himself with her, which 
he did with great politeness ; but this circumstance I 
found to be an oppressive act of the jailor, dictated by 
thirst of gain. The governor of the town came in to 
see him, and they seemed to have a perfect good under- 
standing between them. Several brethren from the 
lodge came to see me, and assured me that they would 
exert all their interest to have us forwai'ded towards 
Arras as soon as possible. 

Jan. 17. A brother told me that we should go on 
next day, and that a waggon should be sent me for that 
purpose. Capt. Norfar was glad of this news, because 
he knew that he "would be sent forward under the same 
escort. 

Jan. 18. Left St. Omer, and proceeded to the to^\ii 
of Aire. The snow being so thick on the road, the 
carriages could scarcely get through ; suifered much 
with extreme cold ; one of the gen d'arme who 
guai'ded us, offered Mrs. Clubb his horseman's cloak, 
which she refused on die presumption that the man 
wanted it himself. 

At 3 o'clock, P. M. arrived at Aire, Norfar, and all 
hands in company. The cleanest prison we had yet seen. 
The keeper, a man 50 years old, had a wife and two 
daughters who were at home. They had likewise two 
sons, one of whom ^vas then at home on the recovery 
from a \vound he had received from British grape shot ; 
a liberal minded youth, and very good company. The 
other son was then in the army. This family shewed 
a wish to alleviate our sufferings by every means in 
their power, condoling sincerely with us, and sent foi- 
two religeuse, the name of their order I have forgot, but 
one of them spoke English well, and was well inform- 
ed. She inquired into all oiu^ particular circumstan- 



27 

ces ; and when I told her of the treachery used to- 
wards me at Calais, and the* neglect and contempt I 
suffered from Mr. Le Veux, she advised me by 
all means to petition the emperor widiout delay. I 
told her I did not think it possible for the emperor, in- 
volved in war, to attend to the complaints of individuals, 
even of subjects, much less to those of a stranger, an 
avowed Englishman. She gave me an instance to the 
contrary in herself, saying, that he had attended to her 
individual petition, and caused justice to be done to 
her, although then engaged in \vm\ This gave me 
fresh hopes. We slept in a clean, good bed, and at 
10 o'clock next morning, Jan. 19, proceeded for Bi- 
thune with two voitures, Norfai^ and his crew travelling 
cheerly altogether, and wishing to get to Arras. At 
2 o'clock, A. M. arrived at Bithune, a \VTetched prison, 
and lifeless town. We were locked into a little room 
with a stone floor for two hours, all hands together, be- 
fore the keeper had made arrangements to let us come 
to his fire, ail which time we were almost perished with 
cold and annoyed with the complaints and incoherent 
noises and lamentations of an unfortrnate wretch, who 
had lost his senses, who, in his ravings, wished to im- 
press on us, that he had been unlawfully robbed of his 
liberty, and taken by the gens d'arme and put into that 
confinement. At length the keeper came, and opening 
a door conducted me and my wife to the fire, where 
they di'essed the victuals ; and, after much importuni- 
ty they suffered Norfar to come and join us, but de- 
claimed the mate must not come ; but by our joint soli- 
citations at last they let him come to the fire too ; but the 
men were not suffered to come neai' any fire, and the 
greatest indulgence we could procure for them m-sls 
some clean straw, and they were 34 hours without even a 
bit of bread except what they bought themselves. This 
was without doubt done in order to squeeze money out 
of them. I had a masonic recommendation to the chief 
magistrate, who came to me, and 1 begged of him to 
have me forwarded to Arras as quick as possible, and 



28 

he assured me every thing should be done that was 
practicable. At 10 o'ciook, ordered to bed, and con- 
ducted through a long avenue, something like the gal- 
lery of an inn, to our apartments ; Norfar and his mate 
to one room, and I and my wife to another. The glass 
in our window being broke, I rammed my hat in, and 
caulked up ail the crevices as well as I could ; but laid 
very cold. 

Jan. 20. At 8, A.M. the door vvas unlocked. 
Turned out and surveyed the building, which I think 
had been formerly a convent. The walls, which were 
or had been, whitened, were scrawled over with char- 
coai in many a. plaintive rhyme, expressive of the ill 
usage the unfortunate baixls had met with, immured in 
" durance vile." Although I thought I had much to 
complain of, I did not add my name ; but, invoking 
patience, passed the irksome day as well as I could, 
and at 10 at night went to the same bed. 

Jan. 21. The door was unlocked at 8, and I went 
and agreed for an excellent covered voiture and two 
horses to Arras, by which journey we should avoid 
laving some days longer at Bithune, and entirely es- 
cape one intermediate prison between there and Arras. 
1 agreed to give thirty-two francs to the voiturier for 
this journey, and at 9, A. M. set out for Arras, myself, 
Mrs. Clubb, and the baggage with the gen (Parme^ 
our guard, the little boy, and the driver. Rain and 
wind all day. Drove on pretty smart, and at 3, A. M. 
saw the tower of the municipality of Arras, which is 
very high, and may be seen at a great distance in clear 
weather, although it does not stand on high ground, 
the face of the country being generally level. The 
town is surrounded by a prodigious number of wind- 
mills, and it struck me that I should find there a great 
many prisoners, or perhaps soldiers, thinking they 
were flour mills ; but found afterwards that they were 
for the purpose of stamping oil out of popp}" and rape 
eeeds. In the summer I saw half the country cultivat- 



29 

ed with the former, which, bearing a flower much Uke 
a taiip, has a most beautiliii appearance. 

As we approached the town I kept a sharp look out, 
thinking- to see some prisoners from whom I might 
obtain information to govern my proceedings ; but the 
weather was so bad, that we scarcely saw a human be- 
ing till we came into the town, and then I found that 
the driver avoided the pubhc streets, so that all seemed 
silence and dismay. At length, after crossing the 
outer ditch over a draw bridge appeiired the great gate 
of the citadel of Arras, over which a large imperial ea- 
gle in stucco extended his wings, and holding in his 
claws the forked lightening, seemed to threaten the un- 
fortunate captive as he entered, that he w ould never be 
liberated till death signed his pass. Driving over the 
inner draw bridge we entered this deposit of unfortu- 
nate victims suffering in despair, because their govern- 
ment sees it necessaiy, and there hundi'eds of these 
brave men have literally starved to death, and that gov- 
ernment has never sent them a single cent for their re- 
lief, although they frequently petition majesty for 
that purpose, and humbly lay a faithful representation 
of their extreme sufferings at the foot of his throne ; 
yet majesty has never deigned to take the least notice 
of them. Two of these petitions were wrote while I 
was there, and signed by all the ship-masters. They 
were wrote in a very expressive manner, and, as I 
thought, in an appropriate style for men in their dread- 
ful position. They asked me to sign ; but I would 
not, for in all my life I never had received a farthing of 
majesty's money ; neither was I taken under his colours. 

When we entered the citadel, I suffered a shock 
which excited all my pity and commisseration at 
sight of the livid, woe-worn countenances of the totter- 
ing shadows who flocked round me to ask, " wdiat 
news." Mrs. Clubb shed a flood of tears, and asked 
if there were any Americans among them. They 
said, there were. I inquired for the commandant, and 
was cbnducted to the bureau of the depot, where I was 



30 

again interrogated by the chief interpreter, who order- 
ed ni}- baggage into the room, and then said, that I must 
unlash all my packages, &c. and give the lashings into 
his possession that they might not be useful to the 
prisoners in escaping over the walls as had sometimes 
been the case. I remonstrated very strongly against 
this proceeding ; but he told me it must be done, and 
that if I did not do it myself, his duty would compel 
him to order a soldier to do it. 

I was proceeding slo^vly, when, to my great joy, in 
came the col. commandant of the citadel and his 
lieutenant. The col. wore the insignia of the order of 
Malta, and of the Legion of Honour. I accosted the 
col. and he took me by the hand as a brother, and 
listened with the kindest attention to my singulai' dis- 
tressing story, and then assured me, that as long as I 
conducted myself with propriety I should have a friend 
in him ; that the interpreter -was perfectly right in in- 
sisting on taking my ropes, he not knowing but that I 
was to remain in prison, and in that case such were his 
orders ; but as he should suffer me to go out imme- 
diately and live in the town on parole, that order was 
out of the question. He asked me what hotel I should 
sleep at ; I told him hotel St. Pol. and he took leave, 
saying he would come to me there in the evening. 

I loaded the cart again, and drove out to hotel St. 
Pol. looking at the prison with the same kind of hor- 
ror ^vlih which I have seen a lee shore which I have 
been approaching against my will, where the breakers 
frowned in grizly horror, and death in different hide- 
ous shapes seemed to await us, while our situation 
called for all the firmness of the commander, and iill the 
alert, intrepid activity of the seaman, and for every means 
every lielp, that skill can suggest, or strength effect. 

In this case I well knew my chief support would be 
my ai'my of reserve, a shining train, not numerous, in- 
deed, but true, my joy-inspiring compatriots whose 
yellow visages reliect serenity on their possessor. 
Sweet introducers, placing full confidence in him they 



31 

usher ! Come then, economy, teach me to guard my 
faithful friends ! 

With these reflections we arrived at the hotel, and 
noAV being left to my own discretion with respect to 
when I should go to bed, and when rise up ; when 
I should go out of the house, and when I should come 
in, I felt a degree of pleasure unknown for some time 
past, and my wife resumed nearly her former cheerful- 
ness and vivacity, so that the daughter of the landlord 
says to me. Monsieur, je crois que madame voire Jemme 
ii'est pas Anglaise. 

I sat down in the evening before supper, and was 
writing an account of my misfortunes to a relation, 
when brother Duhamel, commandant of the citadel, 
came in to see me, and with him lieut. Kingdon of the 
British navy, and his lady. I told my story exactly as 
it stood, and they both expressed a wish to serve me. 
At 10 o'clock, went to bed. 

Jan. 22. Mr. Kingdon sent an invitation for us to 
breakfast, and advised me to call for my hotel bill. I 
did so ; and found 1 was charged 12 francs for supper 
and bed only. Economy was so ofiended with this, 
which she called extravagance, that I immediately 
walked about the town, and saw " Qhamhre garnie a 
louer presentemei^f at many windows, and one of 
them in Rue d' Amiens I hired at 12 francs per month, 
got my baggage from the hotel as quick as possible, 
and tenanted my new habitation ; received notice from 
the interpreter, that I must [ittend muster twice a day, 
which order I observed punctually. 

Jan. 23. Mrs. Clubb busy in washing our room, 
which was very dirty. I went down to the dock for 
coals, and found vessels vv hich came from Vaiencurmes 
through a canal retailing pit coal at 22 cents a bushel, 
and 4 cents each bushel to the porter. This canal, 
or rather river, for it is in part natural, is very pleas- 
ant and useful. We used frequently to vviilk by its 
banks, the length of our limits, whicli was 6 English 



milcb, and see with pleasure the peaceable, industrious 
inhabitants at their labour in the meadows and fields, 
or on the river. They raise wheat, bai'ley, and rye, in 
great abundance, the country being very fertile, and 
Avell cultivated. The people seemed to know but little 
about the wai% and very few of them troubled their 
heads about politics. The boatmen generally have 
their families with them in these vessels, where they 
live far cleaner, and, as I thought, much more com- 
fortable than the people on shore, the water of the riv- 
er which is excellent, answering every purpose for 
which that element is used in a family, and the banks 
being in most places steep ; so they go on shore, and on 
board when they please. At little distances from each 
other by the river's side, are houses for refreshment, 
and pleasure- gardens, which are open in the summer 
season, and there on every feast day and on Sundays 
especially, music is provided and with brow unbent 
they join in couples, the dance a-la-ronde, the waltz, or 
what they please, on the green turf; many of our j'oung 
officers joined with them, and the French belles, gen- 
erally speaking, seemed not averse to their company, 
and I think nothing can be more pleasant than the sight 
of this innocent festivity, to which the sprightliness of 
the French is so well adapted ; many a time it has caus- 
ed me to forget for a while my situation, until busy 
thought would bring to my mind the picture of the 
starvling, " I cannot get out," 

Jan. 24. Went into the citadel to inquire after the 
Americans. Some of them came to me, and I asked 
why they were not liberated with their countrymen, 
who were sent a^vay about a month before. They said 
that those men were liberated as Americans at the in- 
stimce of Gen. Armstrong ; but that the greatest part of 
them were English captains, some of Vvhom had since 
wrote letters to France, and that these things being 
known to the minister at war, he had spoke to Gen. 
Armstrong, advising him to take more care to discrim- 
inate, and find out who had a legal right to the protec- 



53 

tion of the American flag, and to liberate none other, 
but that instead of endeavouring to come at the truth, 
which might easily have been done, Gen. Armstrong 
had not only entirely abandoned all the Americans, but 
absolutely refused to answer any of their letters, and 
these unfortunate men brought such indubitable proofs 
that this was a melancholy fact, that I almost despair- 
ed of ever obtaining notice from him. Supported, 
however, by the justice and legality of my cause, I 
rallied my forlorn hope, and wcvii and purchased plenty 
of paper, pens, &:c. and made myself known to the 
distributress of letters at the post office. I cultivated 
the friendship of the interpreter, whose business it is to 
break open such of the letters as ai'c directed "j&mo?z- 
nie?' de guerre,^^ and made every disposition for carry- 
ing on a vigorous and persevering coi'respondence, in 
every direction where I might conceive any hope. 

At 4 A. M. attended muster as usual, when a mes- 
sage came from brother Duhamel, that my appeai'ance 
there might be dispensed with till further orders. This 
circumstance left me more at liberty to pursue my en- 
deavours after justice. 

Jan. 25. Wrote to capt. Savage, and to brother 
Pigault. 

Jan. 26. Weather very cold, and deep snow. 

Jan. 27. Went to the citadel. Americans came 
round me. Wrote a petition for them to Gen. Armstrong. 

Jan. 28, The commandant and his inteq^reter took 
tea with us. 

Jem. 29y Went to market with capt. Ramsey, an 
old prisoner, who instructed me how and where to buy. 

Jan. 30. In eager expectation of a letter from Gen. 
Armstrong ; rainy ; staid at home all day. 

Jan. 31. Gloomy weather, coinciding with the te- 
dious and anxious suspense we were kept in ; and 
continually watching with eager expectation the aiTi- 
vai of the post, in hope that if his excellency consider- 
ed that my case was not his business, he would let us 
know it by a line, he having a secretary 'for that pur- 



34 

pose, aiid that being our ultimate and most pressing" 
request, that we might have recourse to some other 
method to obtain justice, regain our Hberty, or find 
means to preserve our existence. 

Feb. 1. Still watching for a letter from his excel- 
lency ; none came. Wh it can be the reason ? 

Is it that a man dignified with the title of his excel- 
lency, can be ignorant of the stipulations of the treaty ? 
surely, no. Is it that he is so much engaged in the 
momentous affairs of nations, that he cannot attend to 
individual concerns ? then why not give a line if that 
is the case ? Is it that, being born in England, his 
excellency is for that weighty reason prejudiced against 
me, and determined not to notice the violation of the 
treaty in taking me from an American sh.ip, in order to 
gratify a private pique against all who happened to be 
born in England '? An illiberal suspicion, Clubb ; for 
shame, think not so of an ambassador. 

Is it then, that not being a naturalized citizen of the 
United States, and having been born in England, the 
French government consider that being born in a sta- 
ble they have a right to use me like a horse ? but 
have patience, write to Mr. Skipwith, perhaps he will 
answer you, though his excellency will not. 

Feb. 2. Brother Wacheux commissaire de guerre 
called to see us ; told me he would lend me any books. 
Or give me any information in his power. 

Feb. 3. Received letters from Captain Savage and 
Mr. Pigault. 

Feb. 4. Went to the citadel and received 14 days 
pay, at 19 sols per day. 

Feb. 5. A pretended American prisoner came to 
speak with me ; found him out and made him acknowl- 
edge. 

Feb. 6. Sent a long letter to Mr. Fulwar Skipwith 
at Paris, the receipt of which that gentleman acknowl- 
edged afterwai'ds, in a letter to a fellow-pHsoner. 

Feb. 7. Forwarded letters for America for several 
fellow-prisoners by way of Calais. 



35 

Feb. 8. Strong wind with snow and bad weather 
all this month. Prisoners of the lower class d} ing, or 
rather starving very fast. Employed myself most of 
my time in writing to the American consuls and agents 
to no purpose. 

March 1. Masquerading about the streets, and out 
and into the houses in a manner that appeai'ed to me 
most senseless and ridiculous for reasonable beings, 
hiring their dresses and masques at an extravagant rate. 
Mrs. Clubb and myself invited to a masked ball, de- 
clined the honour ; the English characters unfit tor such 
mummeiy, which in the manner they perform it is as 
unmeaning and bizarre ^ as their fetes champ et re are 
pleasant and entertaining. 

March 8. My wife wrote to Mr. Richard Skinner 
at Palis, requesting him to speak to his excellency in 
my behalf. 

March 14. Received a letter from the worthy Mr. 
Skinner, who, on the receipt of my letter, immediately 
consulted Gen. Armstrong, whose arguments on the 
subject were exactly those of the privateer's men, eva- 
sive of the butt of my plea, (that I had taken shelter 
under the American flag in a legal manner, and de- 
manded protection according to the stipulation of the 
treaty) and turning off to the subject of my wife (v/hom 
I only mentioned in my petition to him as a corrobo- 
rant, undeniable proof that I was bound to the United 
States, and had expatriated myself) said she was no 
prisoner, and being a nati^ c of the United States, she 
could have a pass if she chose to leave me. Mere froth, 
as I conceive ; for I cannot suppose that a native of 
the United States, enlightened by education and expe- 
rience, entrusted by his go\'ernment with so weighty a 
charge could be so ignorant of human nature as not to 
know that not one woman in an hundred will abandon 
her husband in distress ; or that he could have so bad 
an opinion of one of his countrywomen. No ; it appears 
to me to be a dexterous shift, and that he was pi'e-de- 
termined I should be a victim ; but for what purpose 
I cannot positively say. 



36 

As to his agent, Mr. Le Veux, at Calais, it requires 
in my opinion no great degree of penetration to discov- 
er that his refusing to do his duty towards me as part 
of an American ship's company, arose from a violent 
desire in him that ship and cargo should be condemned. 

On reading this letter, which Mr. Skinner wrote in a 
truly patriotic and polite mamier to my wife, in answer 
to hers of the 8th inst. I was so enraged that I could 
have execrated the cause of my being thus inhospita- 
bly turned from American shelter, and being denied 
that, for which even American savages are famed, for 
they are said to protect with intrepidity, him ,who takes 
shelter under their roof, even if not allied to them. 
But in this cause, I had forever quitted my native coun- 
try, and proved that I was in the closest alliance ^vith 
this, and found myself inhumanly pushed out at the 
door, into the possession of my native countries enemy. 

March 15. Recived a letter from capt. Savage. 
From this day to the 27, spent in writing, visiting the 
sick, &c. 

March 27. Made a party and walked to St. EIo, 
a village where once stood a monastery of the same 
name, now a magnificent and stupendous ruin, stand- 
ing on high ground ; the towers are left, and seen at a 
great distance, generally called by the English, the two 
sisters. The country people shewed us with great 
civilit}^ this monument of superstition, the extensive 
and well secured vaults and brewery belonging to it, is 
a proof that the holy inhabitants for whom it was built, 
were bons viva?is, and that whatever might have been 
their taste for retirement, meditation and spiritual 
enjoyment, they had not quite forgot their temporal 
good ; vous avez raisoii mes bons peresy says I to my- 
self, and we walked to our lodgings at Arras, a distance 
of about 6 miles. 

March 30. Received a letter from Mr. Richard 
Skinner, who was then himself under misfortunes. 

April 1. Followed an old sea commander, and in- 
timate friend to the grave. The burial ground of Ar- 



S7 

ras, as in other French towns, is about a mile distant ; 
and superstition being nearly done away, the prisoner, 
though a heretic, is buried in the consecrated ground 
amongst the good Catholics, and there distinctions 
end. The deceased was a man with whom I had 
often associated when we were both at liberty, and 
each commanded a ship ; since which time his prop- 
erty had increased, and with it his want, for he grew 
so fond of his money, that he loved it better than he 
did himself. When I first saw him in prison, I asked 
him why he did not get leave to live in town, as he 
was blessed with abundance, adding, that I would take 
upon me to obtain him that liberty, if he would come 
out and live with me in comfort. He answered, that 
having been robbed of his clothes when taken, he could 
not appear in company amongst others without buying 
more at a high rate, and therefore chose to sta}^ in the 
prison, and keep his money. He died the next week ; 
and I lamented that so good a man should die through 
such an error. 

April 5. Went into the citadel to receive my 
month's pay. My heait ached for the prisoners that 
are poor ; sickness prevailed, brought on by want and 
haidship. Gave some sous as usual out of my pay. 
Conversed with a fellow prisoner about taking the ne- 
cessary measures to inform the minister of war of the 
malpractices by which the prisoners suffered. Obtain- 
ed a sight of the emperor's orders and instructions for 
the treatment and allowance of prisoners of wlu% which 
we found to be just and equitable, being in certain 
proportion Avith the French army, according to rank, 
&c. and gained such information as enabled us to state 
to his excellency,* that at least half of the provisions 
and necessaries allowed by the emperor were withheld 
from the lower class of prisoners, which was the cause 
of so much death and desertion, and that the prisoners 
^A' hich Avere almost daily sent to the depot, were scarcely 

* French minister of war. 



enough to make good the mortalit)-. This letter was 
sent anonymous ; for some few days before, some sai- 
lors, having had the hardiesse to go to the commandant 
and complain of the deficiency of their provisions, 
were confined in the Cashot among the rats. Captain 
Little, of Massachusetts, called on us in his way from 
Calais to Paris, and staid the night with us. 

April 16. Little started for Paris ; sent letters by 
him. 

April 29. Went to the funeral of an unfortunate 
prisoner. 

May 4. Was paid in the citadel. 

June 5. W\>nt into the citadel and was paid. 

June 10. As the beef cart was coming into the 
citadel with the beef in the morning, Vandamme, gen- 
eral of division, stopped it and had the beef weighed, 
when there appeared a deficiency of nearly half the full 
quantity, and the quality was found to be very bad ; 
he also put up a notice in the citadel, that the emperor 
had issued orders that the prisoners were to be hu- 
manel}^ treated, and if any one had a grievance, they 
were to relate it to him, and it should be redressed. 
It seems he had been sent for that purpose ; for they 
set about doing justice to the lower class of prisoners, 
and correcting the different abuses. The butcher was 
sent to the military prison at Lille, and other steps were 
taken for the better feeding and clothing the prisoners, 
as the mortality had been very great, and their suffer- 
ings such as hhock humanity to think of. Hundreds 
were caiTied out at the Pcuis gate feet foremost, stal'^'ed 
to mere skeletons, till death, the wretches' friend, came 
to their release. Oh, shades of my lamented counti^--- 
men ! had I the pen of our brother tar, the ill-fated 
Fawkener, you should not want an elegy ! Your inglo- 
rious and cruel fate should be transmitted to posterity 
in some such poem as his inimitable Shipwreck, where, 
in strains peculiar to himself, he bewails the death of 
his amiable and faithful friends and gallant shipmates. 
They fell in a hardy and generous struggle against thc^ 



39 

fury of contending elements, and toiling, side by side, 
emulous of each other's strength and courage, had the 
chance to strive for existence ; but you, by unwhole- 
some confinement in the pestilential air of numerous 
breaths ; the painful gnavvings of inanition, and the 
baleful effect of feverish disease, by the iron gripe of 
hard-heai'ted avarice. Miserable is the fate of a prison- 
er ! his comforts are small, and small his portion ; 
but when the moiety is nipped from him by hard- 
hearted local tyrants, it is in my view the lowest abyss 
of human misery. 

Inconsistence of avarice, increasing with age ! that a 
man, who had passed his grand climacteric, should 
shut the bowels of compassion towards his fellow men, 
and purloin from their small pittance, to add every day 
another prisoner to his useless bags, and hug those 
bags till death strikes his blow, and then he is off", and 
leaves the deai'-loved gold behind. 

"Guilt's blunder, and the loudest laugh of hell." 

Yet I have heaixl him style himself the father of the 
prisoners, and say, that nothing gave him so much 
pleasure as to see his children comfortable. Alas ! if 
any prisoner there had in reality such a father, how 
unnatural would he appear : 

" If angels tremble, 'tis at such a sight." 

June. This month I spent in a monotone of mar- 
keting for the mess, writing respectfully to his excel- 
lency General Armstrong, sometimes playing the fid- 
dle, reading French romances of Pigault, Le Brun, or 
other authors ; subscribed 30 sols per month to brother 
Le Clere's librar3^ 

June 29. The interpreter Mr. Derheim that betray- 
ed me, came to Arras with capt. Fish of Massachusetts, 
and came to see me. I gave Fish letters for Boston, 
^vhich reached their destination. 

June 30. Capt. Fish mid Mr. Derheim went to- 
wards Calais. 



40 

July 10. Saw two French deserters receive theif 
sentences, to be sent to the galUes.^" 

July 19. Money uas distributed, which was sent 
from the patriotic fund at Lloyd's ; but of this the 
Americans have no share. 

This month very hot weather ; walked in the even- 
ings in the beautiful promenades of Arras, which w^re 
full of conipcUiy ; the British officers on parole walk- 
ing familiarly together "with the inhabitants in great 
hainuony. The trees, walks, benches, &,c. &c. being 
in good order, it is as handsome a place for recreation 
as I ever saw^ 

Aug. 1. Began to burn charcoal, as is the practice 
in hot weather in this part of France ; and here eveiy 
floor in the house, even to the gaiTet, is bricked over 
the plank. All the reason I could get for this singular 
mode of flooring was, that it had been the custom of 
their ancestors ; be that as it may, I have reason to 
think it has occasioned the death of many a prisoner. 
It is well known to men of my profession, who have 
carried all kinds of cargoes, that nothing that has a 
solid body attracts and imbibes humidity more forcibly 
than a brick ; so much so, that we kno^v that if in a 
cargo of brick, the lower tier gets wet, the rest that ai-e 
stowed over will all of them, spunge like, by attraction 

* This was done on open parade, before all their comrades, 
who were drawn up to see the example. The unfortunate 
men were taken out of their places of confinement, with 
their heads shaved, their clothes having been previously ta- 
ken from them ; they were dressed in jackets and trowsers, 
of very coarse grey cloth, wooden shoes, and caps of a pecu- 
liar make, and marched from end to end of the parade under 
a guard, in front of the regiment; then marched to the mid- 
dle of the parade, and caused to kneel bareheaded while the 
sentence of the court-martial was read ; each of them trail- 
ing after them a cannon ball of about nine pounds, as it ap- 
peared to me, made fust with about three fathom of a large 
chain which went round their waists. This sight seemed to 
draw the compassion of numbers of people, and as they 
marched back to prison, they held their caps for the charity 
of the beholders. 



41 

fill themselves. This being the case, and the bricks, 
when the chamber is washed, holding the moisture, 
the unwary prisoner, o"\'ermaiched, lays dowai on his 
straw, and there often receives rheumatisms, fevers, 
coughs, consumptions, and all the dire consequences 
of obstructed perspiration. 

There is not at present in the to'^^"n of Arras a single 
loom for weaving that beautiful tapestry that bears its 
name. I saw some rooms hung with it, and inquired 
about the- manufactory, but was told nothing in that 
line had been done for many }-ears in the town. The 
chief employment of the women at this time is lace- 
making. 

It appears that the revolution Avas a severer scourge 
to Arras than to any other town in France. It was the 
birth place of that miscreant Robespierre : and I have 
it from good information, that the guillotine under his 
direction entirely depopulated La Rue de Paris, where 
the noblesse and principal characters resided, and I 
have myself seen human bones in the brook that runs 
thiough the town, the remains of some of those unfor- 
tunates who lost their lives in those times of blood and 
confusion. 

The inhabitants generally behave very sociable and 
friendly to the prisoners, many of whom buoy them- 
selves up with a hope that they are willing secretl}-^ to 
favour the British interest, and even have gone so far 
as to say, and perhaps write, that they ai-e ripe for in- 
surrection, when it is onh" their sua^^ity of manners and 
natural smooth politeness, that cast a mist before the 
eyes of John Bull. 

The town was built b}^ the Spaniards near 300 years 
ago, and fortified by the famous count Vauban about 
250 years since, as I ha^'e heard, and as appears by 
an inscription on a stone laid in one of the brick facings 
of these stupendous works, which are in some places 
ninety feet in height. Had I understood fortification, 

" But knowledge to my eyes her ample page, 
Rich viith the spoils of time, did ne'er unroli," 



42 

I should have taken more notice of this famous fron- 
tier. At Arras is Hkewise a building ui fiiii^ihedy in- 
tended for a convent, as I was told. This is a Hercu- 
lean undertaking. The scaffolding of the inside of the 
great dome is not }'et taken down ; but the library is 
finished, in which is a museum, conlainii5g mai^y cu- 
riosities and antiquities : among the lattc]' is the shoe 
of a queen of France, which they say is 900 years old, 
and an ivory small-tooth comb 700 yeai's, according 
to their account. Mrs. Clubb had the curiosity to 
comb her head with it. We went to see all such 
things, prisoners having much leisure. 

In the town are three good market-squares, La Grand 
Place, Le Petit Place, et La Mai'che au Poisson. In 
the first is the corn market, in the second, that of but- 
ter and vegetables, and in the third, that of fish, as its 
name denotes. These markets are all well supplied, 
particularly the corn market, the country being called 
the granary of France. In the Petit Place is the hall 
of the municipality, where the business of the police is 
done, and where they perform the ceremony of draw- 
ing conscripts. These conscriptions are the greatest 
and indeed the only burdens they complain of, and 
certainly are a great grievance, as bad perhaps as the 
impressing men in England, only with this difference, 
that in England the evil lays on the poor only, as the 
man of property there can screen himself or his chil- 
dren ; but in France every one bears a part of the bur- 
den, ail being included to stand their lot ; and when it 
falls on the rich, I have known two thousand, or some- 
times three thousand, francs given for a substitute. 
Add to to this, that commissions are never sold in the 
French army, every one must begin in the ranks ; and 
I believe that if there are exceptions to these rules, they 
are very rare. I never saw any while among them, 
nor did I ever hear them so much as hint that their 
draughts are unfairly made. 

Aug. 9. Despairing of ever obtaining a line from 
Mr. Armstrong, wrote a long letter to Le Prefect Mar- 



itime de Bologne, stating facts in my usual way, and 
fequesting a rehearing of rny case, and liberation. 
Calais being in his department, his is the central office 
for such business. 

Aug. 29. Followed a worthy brother to the grave 
in masonic form, according to his desire. It being a 
new thing in France, numbers of the inhabitants went 
out with us, and I heard them admire the steady, de- 
cent deportment of the fraternity who appeared in this 
dernier acte of social duty. 

Sept. 12. A gentleman of the name of Collet was 
introduced to us by the commandant, resident in France, 
not far from Si. Omer, and citizen of the United States, 
then on his road to Paris. He paid attention to my 
singular case, and the commandant shewed us a letter 
from the minister of war in answer to my letter to Le 
Prefect Maritime de Bologne of the 9th ult. requesting 
a rehearing of my case. This letter stated, that his ex- 
cellency did not doubt the truth of my statement, but 
that as the representative of the flag from which I was 
taken had not applied for me, a rehearing was unneces- 
sary. 

On a mature consideration of this answer, I constru- 
ed it to imply, that the emperor of the French is not 
so severe on American persons or property, or even on 
persons and property which ai'e legally and fairly un- 
der the protection of the flag of the United States, as 
the diplomacy is negligent in application. And strange 
for an Englishman to tell, I felt more hope of receiving 
justice from Bonaparte, than fro^ him 'Whose duty it 
was to have justice done to all who were under x^mer- 
ican protection ; from him who guarded the honour of 
that flag which was insulted in this infringement. Ev- 
ery man may not see this in the light that I do, or put 
such a construction on it. If I am in an error, it is 
merely in judgment, a mistake of the head, and I trust 
my heart is right, for I do declare that rather than a 
stripe should have been blotted, or the lustre of a star 
diminished on my account, I would have endured 



44 

captivity ; and heaven is my witness, that this was the 
chief reason why I did no!:, Avhen first taken, alter rny 
name, and make use of documents of proof (of a man's 
deceased) of American citizenship, which, by chance, 
I had with me. What ! deny the identity of my per- 
son, and be found on board an American ship in a 
feigned character ! Heaven forbid ! Aid me, integrity, 
I'll tell the truth ! I did ; and what was the conse- 
quence ? neglect and contempt ; poverty is my re- 
ward. But I more glory in it, than ifpossest of all that 
fortune ever threw on fools. I Avrote immediately a 
letter to Gen. Armstrong, of which, the following is a 
copy. 

To his Excellency GENERAL ARMSTRONG, 

AMBASS. PLENIPO. &C. &:C. 

Alay it please your RxceUencxjt is'c. 

The undersigned humbly represents, that he being second 
mate of the ship Hyades of Saco, was taken and brought in- 
to Calais for adjudication, and that being there questioned as 
to the country of his birth, hesitated not to avow himse!/ born 
in England; nothing doubting at the time, that circumstance 
could militate against him or be considered as a crime, seeing 
he was actually an officer under the flag of the United States, 
carried on the roll of equipage as such, married to a native 
of Boston then a cabin passenger on board with him with in- 
tent and agreement with the capt. for her so to remain till 
our return in said ship to America. 

That under such circumstances, and having actually ex- 
patriated himself from England, he conceived himself se- 
cure under the flag of his adopted country ; but contrary to 
this he had beeii excepted against, and with his wife sent to 
and remain at this depot as a prisoner. We appeal to your 
excellency. Admitting for a moment apart, the foregoing 
facts, facts which we establish by the captain's certificate here- 
to annexed, and which may be confirmed by the roll of equip- 
age, now we presume at the council of Prizes. With all 
due submission, we conceive that our case is fully embraced 
by the 14th article of the treaty, which expressly stipulates, 
" The flag shall protect the property on board, even if be- 
longing to an enemy, and more particularly the persons, un- 
less actually in arm.s and in the service of an enemy, &c." 



45 

We entreat your excellency's consideration and commis- 
eration of our unhappy case, and that you will have the good- 
ness to procure our enlargement, and an early opportunity 
of returning to our country, and our friends, and as in duty 
bound we will ever be grateful. 

Arras in France. Signed. 

Copy of the Cafitai}i's certificate. 
I, the undersigned, master of the American ship Hyades, 
of Saco, taken and brought into Calais as a prize, do certify, 
that Mr. Stephen Clubb was my second mate on board, and that 
his wife, a native of Boston, (Mass.) was a cabin passenger, 
with agreement so to be, until our hoped for arrival at home, 
and that there are now on board my ship, water casks, and 
other effects the property of the said Clubb, purchased by 
him for his wife's comfort and accommodation on her in- 
tended passage home to Boston. 

Signed, THOMAS SAVAGE. 

Mr. Collet took this letter with him, and delivered it 
to Gen. x\rmstrong. 

Oct. 20. Mr. Collet returned from Paris ; told 
me he had seen General Armstrong, and that he saw 
one of my letters laying on his table, but that the Gen- 
eral would take no notice of me or my wife ; that he 
did not appear to be inclined to favour any of his coun- 
trymen, much less to fa^'our me Avho v. as only a stran- 
ger, although in fact and legality under the protection 
of the flag of the United States. 

Oct. 21. Resolved not to be discouraged ; wrote to 
the American minister in pressing, but respectful terms. 

This month spent in much the same manner as the 
last, writing in every direction. 

Nov. 21. The worthy brother Pigault came to iVr- 
ras as an elector of the imperial senate. He came to 
see me ; and he being a man well informed of the pre- 
sent state of political affairs, and, as I conceived, of a 
solid judgment, I asked him whether, in his opinion, 
Great Britain was likely to crush the empire of France ? 
He said that, according to the present situation of af- 
fairs, he judged that the emperor would in all proba- 



46 

bility soon rule the continent entire ; and that he should 
expect to see me liberated on a general exchange. 
This month expended in the same manner as the for- 
mer. 

Dec. 21. Capt. Chambers, of a British merchant 
ship, aiTived, with his legs swelled and otherwise dis- 
ordered with the bad treatment he had experienced on 
the road, and in the different prisons ; and brought 
likewise, the entrails and dung of some beasts, which a 
jailor had boiled and made soup of, and set the solid 
before him and his crew to eat. This inhuman sight 
was exhibited before a French surgeon, who was em- 
ployed in the cure of this sufferer ; I asked him qii'est 
cequeca, monsieur? Sucre Dieu^ dit il, c'' est T ordure. 

Jan. 1. Time spent in perseverance in writmg ; not- 
wilhstariding all these discouragements, my precious 
army of reserve dwindling away every day, now reduc- 
ed to a small handful ; in case I am ultimately disap- 
pointed in my hopes of being liberated, I intend to com- 
mence teaching the English language to the French, or 
French language to the English, or both. Employed 
myself in a revision of the French giT:mmar for that pur- 
pose. Mem. mortaJl}', hate studying grammar, par- 
ticiples passive, &c. uninteresting, dry employment. 
In this month, the commandant was superseded by 
monsieur Noirot, who immediately began to correct 
former abuses, and clothe the prisoners, provide beds 
for them ; and by his impartial and firm conduct, the 
condition of the pooi'er class of these unfortunates, was 
so much altered for the better, that the mortality ceased, 
from 40 or 50 funerals in a month, to 4 or 5 ; and Mdien 
I came away, the deaths were in the same proportion 
with the inhabitants of the town. The hospital had but 
few prisoners in it ; and the sailors began to look more 
like Englishmen. 

An unfortunate man, who told me he had suffered 
much in the service of the United States, and had been 
in slavery at Algiers, fell sick, and went to the hospi- 
tal. My wife often went to visit him, and found (I am 



47 

soiTy to say) that nothing ailed the man, but the crav- 
ings of an empty stomach ; he had twice been in the 
hospital before, was cured and sent to prison again, 
but for want of nourishing diet as often relapsed, and 
had not a cent to buy a bit of bread ; she often carried 
little cakes, &c. which she concealed about her, (for the 
order was, that nothing should be carried to the sick) ; 
and as it was not in my power to help him altogether 
by myself, I wrote a petition for him, and, amongst my 
brother officers, collected 3 crowns which I gave him, 
for he never drank spirits, and I had the pleasure of 
seeing him revive from a mere shadow, to a stout m.an ; 
he is about 35 years of age, but prison- worn to the ap- 
pearance of 50. 

In this month I obtained such allowance for my wife, 
as the French government have thought proper to al- 
low wives of officers who are prisoners, and shall I be 
believed M^hen I say, that this polite nation allows la- 
dies, who are under these misfortunes, nothing but the 
common piison bread ? the utmost I could sell it for, 
was 3 francs per month. 

I saw some French ladies at AiTas, who had been 
sent home from F.nglish prisons ; I asked thtm how 
they had fared, they said their husbands enjoyed 
parole, and had half a guinea a week ; but themselves 
had but a shilling a day. When Mr. Collet was at 
Paris, he recommended my case to Mr. Isaac Cox Bar- 
net, whose truly patriotic exertions in behalf of the ini-^»» 
fortunate Americans, ought never to be forgot by his 
countrymen. He was the first American agent ^vho 
took notice of me, and gave me hope ; I wrote 2 let- 
ters to him explaining my case very fully. 

Feb. 10. Received a note from Mr. Barnet, advis- 
ing me to petition the minister of wai- ; which I did in 
the same strain as I had before petitioned Gen. Arm- 
strong. 

Feb. 11. Went into the citadel. Severe frost. The 
poor Americans flocked ai'ound me as usual to hear 
what news ; assured Slawson in pailicular (a native of 



48 

Stanford near New- York) and all the rest of the citizens 
of the United States, that I would make every exertion 
to serve them, and that should it be my good fortune 
to arrive first in any pait of the United States, I would 
publish the neglect and wrongs they suffered, by every 
means that laid in my power, and they promised the 
same to me. 

About this time 3 ship's companies arrived from 
Rochfort, from American ships, who had been stopped 
for being engaged in a trade between England and 
France, making a false declaration in that respect, al- 
though warned by notice previously read to them, at the 
custom-house in France, that if they declared any thhig 
more or less than the truth, each master of any of the said 
ships would be fined 4000 francs, each mate 500 francs, 
and each seaman 100. The masters of the ships having 
found means to escape on information being given of 
the business, the mates and crews were sent to Arras 
and treated as Biitish piisoners of war ; the 3 mates 
were introduced to me, and told me the story ; they 
were exhausted with fatigue in travelling such a dis- 
tance, and thought it a ery hard that they had no appiii, 
no one to appeal to. They imagined when the notice 
was read to them, that if they paid the fine they would 
be suffered to come home, and having made amende 
according to law they would be considered again as 
American citizens but no ; when I saw them, one of 
tjirm had mc. -j then in his possession sufficient to have 
"oaid his ransom, and the rest could soon have raised it, 
but an American iU France appears always to me as if 
he had no friend. It is a fact that my wife applied to 
General Armstrong, saying she was a native of Boston ; 
he made no reply. She then applied to the British 
agent, who told her she was an American. 

I here beg leave to remark that the conduct of the 
three young men who were mates in the American 
ships, was such as gave me great satisfaction, cement- 
ed by the same circumstances, their aim and efforts 
were united, such as I with every American will ever 



49 

be, pointing sincerely and unanimously towards the 
same end, their behaviour sober and circumspect, ab- 
stracting themselves as much as civility allowed them, 
fr*n the British, and all other foreigners. 

Mm'ch. Time spent in the same manner ; the unfor- 
tunate Americans in the citadel very anxious. Mr. 
Biirnet corresponded, and gave us a glimse of hope from 
time to time, that he might perhaps obtain justice for 
us. 

April 10. Received a letter from Mr. Barnet, of 
which the following is a copy. 

Paris, April 8, 1809. 
Sir, 

I have the pleasure to inform you, that I got assu- 
rance yesterday that you ivill be liberated soon, that is, that 
the decision is taken, but the order not signed, it may prob- 
ably get his excellency's signature on Wednesday next, and 
if so may reach me on Friday or Saturday. 

If, as I confidently expect, you are liberated, it will be due 
to the proper manner of presenting your case ; To my ap- 
plication to the minister of war, through the department of 
extra relations, and to the respect which his majesty's gov- 
ernment shews to the stipulations of our treaty, undet which 
your case comes. 

Mr. Collet first made it known to me. Actuated by a con- 
stant desire to serve those who have a right to the protec- 
tion of my country(wherever born,) I most cheerfully exert- 
ed myself without regard to official duty, or local authority, 
and am happy that it has been to some effect. Be assured 
that with me no personal influence of others has contributed 
to your relief ; your case being presented by Mr. Collet, 
his respectability and the justice of your cause has done all. 
I have found good will and attention in the offices, but not 
at the price of pecuniary consideration ; let no one deceive 
you in these points : I again repeat that the justice of your 
cause, and what credit a conduct of thirteen years in this 
country may have entitled me to, have alone obtained your 
emancipation ; for I consider it certain. Happy in the as- 
surances I got yesterday, I beg you and Mrs. Clubb will 
accept my congratulating compliments, and cordial saluta- 
tions. 

J. COX BARNET. 
Mr. S. Clubb. 



50 

This excellent man was so kind as to correspond 
with me, and often as I went into the citadel the discon- 
solate,friendless American sufferers would come around 
me, and ask me what could be the reason that Gen. Arm- 
strong would not notice his countrymen ? I could not 
reply ; and they in expressive silence would walk away, 
with woe and dejection in their countenances. 

April 15. Received a letter from Mr. Bamet, say- 
ing, patience yet a little. 

April 21. Received a letter from Mr. Barnet, say- 
ing my business was postponed; wrote the grateful effu- 
sions of my heart to him, whose patriotic concern for 
the respectability of his flag, caused him to feel an in- 
terest for me, condemned the victim of interested men. 

May 22. Received a letter from Mr. Bamet, say- 
ing, that on account of my declaring myself born in Eng- 
land, the minister of war thought proper to refer my 
case to his imperial majesty, and that my petition was 
sent to him at Vienna. Being fully confident that an 
official nod from Gen. Armstrong, would cause me to 
be liberated, I directed my wife to write to him once 
more, as follows : — 

To his Excellency General ARMSTRONG. 

Arras^ May 30, 1809. 
I AM a native of Boston, (New-England) and was taken 
with my luisbund, who was second mate of the Hyades, and 
his name is now on the role of equipage as such. I was cabin 
passenger in the ship, by agreement with the captain, in or- 
der to go home to the United States. To obtain this pur- 
pose, my husband placed himself under the protection of the 
American flag, in full confidence that he would be i-espccted 
according to the stipulations of the treaty. The contrary, 
however, has happened ; and he is unlawfully torn from the 
sacred asylum he had flown to, and is arbitrarily confounded 
among the British prisoners of war; the proofs of the 
above are demonstrable, and place the fact beyond all 
shadow of doubt. I apply to your excellency, as to the 
guardian of the honour and rights of the flag under which 
my husband was taken, requesting you would obtain justice 
for him, in full persuasion that the just and enlightened mind 
of the great emperor would disdain so unjust and arbitrary 
an action, were it truly represented to him. 



51 

With all submission to and high consideration of your ex- 
cellency, in your elevated and important station, I conjure 
you for a moment to consider the singularly distressing situa- 
tion I am placed in ; between the love of my countiy on the 
one hand, and the duty and fidelity due to my husband on 
the other, my heart is torn with anguish. Father of a family 
yourself, you might form some conception of it, if you would 
imagine a near branch of yours in my position, eminent and 
sole in misfortune. I am the only Amcricainc held prisoner 
here ; add to this, that my husband's love and confidence in 
me, my family, and my country, have brought him into this 
misfortune. 

Thus betrayed and neglected, I am sure you would think 
me unworthy of my native country, were I to leave him. 

I make bold to request your excellency would order the 
counterpart to be sealed and sent as directed, having to add, 
to my other misfortunes, that I have not had a line from my 
family these two years. 

If your excellency would deign to give me a line of advice 
or encouragement in this my great and unmerited distress, 
it would ever be gratefully remembered by yoiU", &:c. 8cc. 

This letter, with one on the other part of the same 
sheet for my wife's connexions in Boston, properly ad- 
di'essed, I put in the post office at Arras ; but it never 
came forward, nor did his excellency vouchsafe me any 
answer. 

I must confess, that when I found that the minister 
of war dared not to sign the order for my liberation, 
but had sent my petition to the emperor at Vienna, 
I felt a little discouraged, although I had not the least 
doubt but that if the emperor once saw and considered 
the petition, he would grant it, for this reason, he had 
no interest to prompt him to refuse it ; being of opin- 
ion that there is not one man in a thousand who will be 
guilty, positively or negatively, of any act of injustice 
or cruelty towards a fellow creature, except he has some 
interest in view. 

My time passed in the most anxious suspense : some- 
times 1 would think that if Gen. Armstrong, whose im- 
mediate duty I conceived it to be, both by the rules 
of patriotism and politeness, (even saying that circum- 
stances hindered him from trying, at that time, to have 



52 

his flag respected) at least to answer my wife's letter. 
If lie neglect me, how can I expect that the real and 
actual sovereign of the French empire, involved as he 
is in warfare, will notice me, a wretched individual, 
branded as I am with the name of Englishman ? 

Jmie 11. Received an invitation in the name of the 
commandant to go into the citadel ; he had something 
to communicate. I cannot say but I felt a kind of 
repugnance to attend an invitation from a French offi- 
cer, for I had not forgot leur politesse at Cabis. But 
I was in their possession ; so, with the best grace I 
was master of, I went to the citadel, taking the precau- 
tion, ho\^'ever, to carry my great coat, night cap, and 
some other necessaries, so that in case the invitation 
might prove so pressing, as not to suffer me to come 
out again, I might be tolerably accommodated to sleep 
there all night. 

I walked without loss of time into the bureau, where 
three English youths, who served as clerks and inter- 
preters, sat writing ; they were well acquainted with 
me, and knew the injustice of my detention. The 
pleasingly animated expression of their countenances 
assured me at once I had nothing to feai-, and they all 
spoke together, " Captain Clubb, we congratulate you 
on your release from captivity." " On what authority 
do you ground your assertion ?" said I. " On noth- 
ing less than an imperial order." " Can I see it?" 
" Yes, here on the table." "Will you let me take a 
copy of it?" "Yes." 

(TRANSLATION.) 
To Monsieur NOIROT, commanding the depot of 
prisoners of war at Arras. 
Sir, 
I have the honour to inform you that his majesty has per- 
mitted Mr. Stephen Clubb, aji English cafitain^ prisoner at 
Arras, who had the intention to go and settle in the United 
States, to go there with his wife. These strangers being 
given up to *he disposal of the minister plenipotentiary of 
the United States, WHOSE DUTY IT IS (qui doit) to send 
them the needful passports to Arras. 



The general of division orders that when they have re- 
ceived them, they may set off for the port from whence they 
are to embark, and that their departure may be made men- 
tion of in your accounts. 

Signed by a General q/ Division. 

I read and considered this, and sa\v, 

" Alps on Alps arise." 

The difficulty appeared now to be in getting a pass- 
port from General Armstrong, without which I could 
not get out of France, and I had little reason to expect 
that his excellency, who had all along been so inflexi- 
bly deaf to my just complaints, would now listen to 
me. I had already exhausted all my logic on him to 
no purpose, and had no new argument to offer. 

The circumstance of having the emperor's permis- 
sion to be sure was new ; but my hopes depended, as I 
conceived, on what degree of weight and importance 
his excellency might consider to be attached to the two 
monosyllables qui doit, when pronounced by the empe- 
ror of the French. 

I should have interpreted them simply ivho ought, 
but when I considered that I w^as in France, where, by 
politeness and refinement in the extreme, it is the cus- 
tom to invite a man to prison, and instead of being 
forced in by a sheriff's officer or bailiff, he is politely 
ushered into his confinement, perhaps by an officer in 
imperial uniform, as I was, or perhaps by a messenger, 
who has the appearance of a finished gentleman, with 
all the agremens of burnished education. When I 
considered this, I hoped that his excellency might in- 
terpret the two little words in question, if not as a di- 
rect, at least as an oblique conmiand, or (which is the 
same thing from the emperor) advice to him, to do 
that justice to me, which I had a right to expect from 
the respectability of the flag of the United States. 

I went to my lodgings, and read to my wife the copy 
of our release, and she thought that we now laid at the 
mercy of her countryman, General Armstrong, more 



54 

than ever, which threw a damp on all her hopes, for she 
had wTote so often to him, and in such pathetic terms, 
that she forever despaired of moving his compassion, 
or even his attention to what she conceived to be a du- 
ty he owed, if not to his office as minister, at least to 
his character as a gentleman ; that is, to give an an- 
swer, no or yes, to a female. I discoursed on these 
matters with many of my friends, among whom was 
the commandant's secretaiy (a Frenchman) who said 
that qui doit was his majesty's opinion iineqiiivoque, and 
that neither General Armstrong, nor any man in the 
empire would counteract it. The American mates 
were of the same way of thinking, and immediately 
began to write letters to send by me, as did the unfor- 
tunate American sailors Avho \^'ere in confinement in 
the citadel, to all of whom I solemnly promised that, 
should I be so fortunate as to effect my passage to the 
United States, that I would not only deliver their let- 
ters, but publish the sufferings I had experienced, as a 
specimen of theirs ; for it would be impossible for me 
to recollect the wrongs and sufferings of each individ- 
ual. Here perhaps some may say, that there are so 
many false documents sent from England that it is just 
as impossible for the General to discover the real from 
the pretended American. I answer, that there are 
always, or at least have been for some years past, some 
prisoners whose Americanship is indubitable ; write to 
any one of them, and he will point out the real Ameri- 
can. Capt. Hugh Harrison was likewise released by 
the minister of ^val* by his own petition, and the help of 
Mr. Bainet. This man's case was veiy hard : He was 
a citizen of Charleston, (S. C.) and commanded the 
brig Lady Washington. She ^vas taken by the British, 
and Harrison took a passage in an English vessel from 
Gibraltar for London to tiy for his brig : on his pas- 
sage they vv-ere taken by the French, and the vessel 
burnt. Harrison, notwithstanding he saved enough of 
his papers to prove his citizenship, was sent to Arras, 



55 

where he remained 13 months, continually writing pe- 
titions to Gen. Armstrong. 

June 16. There came another invitation for me to 
go to the bureau. I went in, and there laid on the ta- 
ble an envelope, addressed, Messieurs S. Cliibb ^ 
Hugh Harrison detinus cm depot d'^Arras^ which they 
gave to me, and I read, as follows : 

Paris, June 14, 1809. 
Gentlemen^ 
HIS majesty having been pleased to grant your liberty, 
two passports are sent in consequence. You will fill up the 
parts which have been left in blank, and give notice to this 
legation of the port from which you intend to sail. 
I am with great respect, Sec, 
(Signed) DEVILLE, 

Sec'ry of his ExceWy. 

I then took the pass, and could scarcely believe my 
eyes when I saw his excellency's signature at the bot- 
tom. The blank was left for me to fill up ; and having 
been informed by Mr. Bai'net (that friend of the real 
American, or even of those who have a legal claim to 
American protection) that the Mentor, government 
despatch ship, was shortly to sail from L'Orient for 
New York, I inserted L'Orient as the shortest way to 
America. 

I cannot tell what argument Mr. Warden could use 
to falsify Doolittie's letters which I brought. A stran- 
ger to speculative reasoning, I say, that those letters 
were nothing but unequivocal facts, palpable and unde- 
niable ; and maugre all sophistical arguments, I shall 
continue to assert, sweai% and maintain, that black is 
black, and Vv'hite is white, in the behalf of those unfor- 
tunate men, according to my promise ; until they come 
home,which I hope will be soon,andthen the}-, being na- 
tives or citizens of the United States, will do it for them- 
selves. For my own part, I have gained my point 
and am here in safety, and but for the promise I made 
to the unfortunate sufferers left behind, would trouble 
myself no more about it. 



56 

I have Ibrg-ot the names of many of these men, there- 
fore shall insert none ; but I brought with me between 
20 and 30 letters from them to their fathers, mothers, 
wives, &c. in the United States. 

1 call on capt. Shepai'd of Salem, who was 6 days 
with us in Arras, and to whom I am under great obli- 
gations for his kind attention, to witness their suffer- 
ings. I call on capt. Litde of the Speculator, capt. 
Caleb Hopkins, Mr. Jonathan Emery and Mr. Ephraim 
Pain, mates, to support me in asserting these facts. 

A little previous to my coming away, some British 
officers deserted from parole, and all the officers were 
confined, except those whose wives were with them. 
Mrs. Clubb went and pleaded with the commandant 
for her countrymen (the three American mates) alledg- 
ing they were not prisoners of war, &c. He said they 
\^^ere in his chai'ge as such, and if they came out on 
parole it must be on my responsibility ; I consented, 
and they were let out, so that ihey were sorry in one 
way to part with us, but grounded great hopes that we 
should plead with Gen. Armstrong, and persuade him 
to notice them. 

June 22. Left Arras in the Diligence. 

June 23. On road. 

June 24. Arrived in Paris. Gen. Armstrong so 
much indisposed that he could not be seen ; sent my 
wife to beg to speak to him,but it could not be. She then 
asked to see ISlrs. Armstrong, and was answered, she 
was sick likewise. She however at length got admit- 
tance, and told Mrs. Armstrong who she was, and that 
she came to return thanks to Mr. Armstrong for my 
passport, and to deliver letters and petitions from the 
American prisoners at Arras. Mrs. Armstrong took 
them, and returned ^vith Mr. Armstrong's answer, 
'' That we need not thank him for our release, for that 
we must have had some other friend." Mrs. Clubb 
answered, yes, all the local authorities inclined to do us 
justice, and it was sanctioned by the emperor himself 
Mrs. Armstrong then laid the sealed letters on the 



57 

mantle piece, and said Mr. Armstrong' wcnld look at 
them on some future du}", and rerui'ned Mrs. Cliibb die 
Open letter, with Mr. Armstrong's answer, " that there 
ai-e no American prisoners at iVrras." To which Mrs. 
Clubb replied, it seems theie are, for I have seen as 
many as 20 or 30 protections brought by white and 
bJack men, enveloped and sealed on our own table, 
and forwarded to Mr. Armstrong, and ha^'e letters 
from all of them, to deliver to their parenis and fi iei xls 
in the United States, and they have sent home a list of 
all their names which will be published throughout 
America. I ^\Tote this bad news to niv unfortunate 
fellow-suiierers. Mr. Baniet was so kind as to afford me 
hospitality during the 5 days I was at Pai is, and I saw 
an invitation sent at the instance of Mr. Armslrorig 
for h:m to attend at the police office on business which 
concerned him, and saw the distress of his amiable fam- 
ily at the dreadful summons ; my heait a.ched as he went 
out. But at 5 in the evening he came home, and they 
received him, transported with joy. I dropt a tear on 
my plate. How M^as that? Even in Paris, I found 
fiiendswhcml shall ever remember with gratitude; 
true Americans who were glad to see their flag re- 
spected. 

June 29. Took leave of the worthy Mr. Barnet, and 
left Paris for L' Orient, where we arrived on the 4th of 
July, and soon embarked in the Mentor. 

When I aiTived at New York, I wrote an abridsrnient 
of this work, and carried it to the editor of a news- 
paper, but he did not insert it ; and after that to another, 
who served m^e in the same manner. 

When I came to Boston, I went to an editor with it, 
and Mr. Eph. Pain in company with me, to attest these 
facts, but saw that shifts ancl evasions were the practice. 

Now I submit it to a candid public, in the name of 
the American prisoners at Arras, who argue thus : if 
the emperor respects our flag so much as to liberate 
capt. Clubb, an avowed Englishman, merely because 
he had the intention to sro and settle in the United 



58 

States, would he not most certainly liberate us, ^vho 
are natives or naturalized, if we were applied for ? 

To conclude : I now enjoy liberty, no thanks to 
Gen. Armstrong, and exult in the pleasure (which no 
mail can take from me) of seeing my fellow creatures 
foiio^A^ their occupations without danger of polite invi- 
tations or brutal press-gangs ; wishing that American 
jouth (if this should fall into their hands) may reflect 
a moment on the injustice of European treatment, and 
from that consideration learn duly to appreciate the 
l:>lessings they enjoy under their own mild and equita- 
ble government, and the value of their local position on 
the habitable globe. 

Hoping the foregoing statement of facts, with my 
own consequent reflections, will not be the worse re- 
cei\^ed because I happened to be born in the countrj^ 
from whence America Vv^as peopled, I most sincerely 
wish unity of sentiment and prosperity to the United 
States of America, where I wish to spend the remain- 
der of my life. 



JVQTE. 

I find it is asked, even by ship masters, what right had the 
American consul to apply for you, an Englishman ? I answer, 
by a permanent maxim long established by justice and reason, 
and still practised in all civilized nations, viz. If a seaman 
or ofllicer, aliens by birth, are hired for service on board any 
ship, and enrolled among the ship's company, then such sea- 
man or officer, in case that ship's company comes to distress 
by detention of princes, shipwreck, fire, or other cause, is 
entitled to the same protection and support for the time be- 
ing from the consul of the nation that ship belongs to, as the 
citizens or subjects of that nation. 

I believe no candid man will say this is wrong, or would 
say to such a seaman or officer, I have no further need of 
your service, get out and perish ; you are a stranger. NA- 
POLEON would not say so, but liberated me, for which I 
thank him sincerelv. 



59 



The following is a translation of m?/ petition to the 
French minister of war. 



STEPHEN CLUBB, second mate of the American 
ship Hyades, detained in the depot of Arras, To his 
excellency, Count of the Empire, Minister of War, 
Paris. 

My Lord, 

The detention of me and my wife is prolonged in such a 
eruel manner, that, in order to put an end to it, I thus make 
bold to submit my case to the benevolence and humanity of 
your excellency. 

I was born an Englishman, which I freely declared in my 
examination relative to the capture of the ship Hyades. 

The question is to know whether, in the circumstances 
under which I Avas taken, I can be considered and treated as 
an enemy. Here follow facts, which to me clearly demon- 
strate the contrary. 

I prove by documents which will be submitted \ 
excellency, that I am married to an American womai 

My wife desiring to return to Boston, the place of 
tivity, I resolved to go and establish myself there, ; 
embarked on board the ship Triton for Baltimore. This snip 
was forced into the Isle of Wight, and finding she was likely 
to alter her destination, I had to seek another passao-e. 

Not long after, the ship Hyades of Saco arrived, to^vait for 
ord .rs. Her second mate had left her at the moment of her 
sailing from Charleston, and the captain agreed Avith me to 
serve as second mate for my passage and my wife's to the 
United States. 

We were taken and conducted to Calais. And from these 
facts it results, that I was married to an American woman, 
and actually on my way to go and settle in the United States. 
I had besides the essential circumstance in my favour, of 
being taken while I was exercising the functions of second 
mate on board an American ship. These circumstances 
cannot be weakened by a perfidious suggestion, that I was 
taken Avhen only pilot of that ship. ^^ 

A pilot would not have his wife and all his effects onboard S| 

of a ship where he is only to remain a few hours. ^^ 

No. I declare on my word and honour, that I was there ; 

employed as second mate to facilitate my passage, as appears '■, 

by the documents annexed. " * ■' 



60 

1 am tho.^ yu E!U',i.=tiiiian,-AOt employed [n British service, 
{wsscnger on board an American ship to go ivid settle in the 
United Stater,, the native coyiv.ry of my wife v/ho embarked 
u'ith me. 

This being proved, my detention appears to be i ■ 'iirect 
opposition to the treaty sigjicd on the 8th of Vendemairt . irn 
the year 9, between France and the United States. 

This treaty says, art. 14, It is equally ag-reed upon, thai 
this same liberty shall extend to the persons on board the 
free ship, even if they should be enemies of cither of the 
contracting parties, and they shall not be taken from the 
said free ships, a( lea.ft if they are not soldiers^ and actuallij 
in the enemy's service. 

The evident sense of this article was, to protect on board 
of an American ship the person of an Euglishmi.n, even if 
this man exercised no function on board the ship, and was in 
no intimate alliance Avith the United States, nor any design 
to go there to settle and remain for ever. 

But if the above is the ser^se of the treaty, how is it that 
the American colours cannot protect me, who was second 
officer on board the ship, me, whose wife was on board with 
me, passenger ur.d<,i' her native A-^i i^^^? finally, who would 
not have been fovtnd on board the ship, had I not renounced 
England for ever, and been goi.ig to settle in th^ United States. 

This is impossible ; the iett^^r of the law speaks too strong 
in my favour ; and when all these circumsttmces are consid- 
ered, it will be seen that we need not make use of the treaty 
in its full rigor, to clear me, even me, a friendless English- 
man, whicli circumstance I have never denied. 

I dare then to expect, from the enlightened justice of your 
excellency, that you will deign to give the necessary orders 
that my wife and myself, may be liberated from the depot 
where we are detained ; andpei-mitted to take passage in the 
lirst ship that sails for the United States. 
I have the honour to be, 

with the most profound respect, 
my lord, 

your excellency's most humble 

and most obedient servant, 

STEPHEN CLUBB 

Arras., February 13, 1809. 



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